InAbadilla case: Both the RTC and the CA did not apply this test of credibility of a witness before accepting the testimony of Alejo. In the Vizconde case, the SC does not accept conjecture as the basis of its decision. 808 bound for New York and who expressed doubt on whether Hubert Webb was his co-passenger in the trip; NBI medico-legal Dr. Prospero Cabanayan, Belen Dometita and Teofilo Minoza, two of the Vizconde maids; and Manciano Gatmaitan, an engineer. On the acquittal of Lorenzo delos Santos, the accused whom Alejo had also positively identified, it ruled that his acquittal did not damage Alejos credibility; and his positive identification of the accused. Alfaro claimed that Hubert was angry at Carmela thus raping and murdering her, her younger sister and her mother, to supposedly revenge her unfaithfulness to him. Hopefully, if they will surface, public pressure will snowball and I will finally get the justice I am looking for, he said. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. The jurisprudence mentioned above that the SC invoked has not been equally applied. Alejo confirmed these two (2) as the persons he saw from his guard post walking to and fro before the shooting incident. Call 896 6000. October 1, 1996 Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paraaque RTC rejected 132 of the defense's 142 pieces of evidence. Only minor cases, like oral defamation and quarrel between neighbors, are handled by the barangay. February 26, 2021. . Pray to them. For example, I was the first one to report the shooting of 16-year-old Maureen Hultman and her boyfriend by the son of former chief justice Claudio Teehankee in 1991 in my column at theInquirer, because the girls stepfather, Anders, a Swede, came to myIsumbongoffice at Radyo Veritas. The Vizconde massacre, dubbed the crime of the 20th century, was my defining moment as a columnist and defender of the oppressed and those wrongfully accused. [2] Lauro Vizconde, Estrellita's husband and the father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the United States on business when the murders took place. [13][14], Other prosecution witnesses were: Carlos J. Cristobal who alleged that on March 9, 1991, he was a passenger of United Airlines Flight No. The High Court put to question the quality of the testamentary evidence furnished by the witnesses. On June 30, 1991, three Vizconde women Estrellita, 49; her 19-year-old daughter, Carmela and the younger Jennifer, 6 were found dead in their home at BF Homes Village in Paraaque. For example, it rejected as not impartial the corroborating testimony of Augusto Santoss brother-in-law that he was at the hospital with him when Abadilla was murdered. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened, he said. Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. But Villaramas opinion was not considered by the SC in their majority decision. Alibi cannot prevail over the positive identification of a credible witness [140].. To find out more, please click this link. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. Alfaro, upon explaining on how the house was ransacked, (the Paraaque police had earlier blamed house robbers as suspects), said that Ventura was looking for the front-door key and the car key. Biong was released from jail on November 30, 2010, after serving his sentence. Like the accused in the Vizconde case and for any other cases for that matter, the accused in the Abadilla murder case also deserve equal protection of the law. Credibility of a witness: In Vizconde case not credible, but credible in the Abadilla case. Sulu in the eyes of my good friend Princess Jacel Kiram is a potential eco-tourism destination and fruit basket of the country. [29] She did not show up at the NBI as a spontaneous witness (only after four years) bothered by her conscience. Indeed, her superior testified that she volunteered to play the role of a witness in the Vizconde killings when she could not produce a man she promised to the NBI. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. [48] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Philippines at the time of the murders. Their original conviction was capital punishment but their sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. Lauro Vizconde the husband of Estrellita and father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the United State on business when the murders took place. Hubert Jeffrey Webb sought for an acquittal after he had found out that the NBI could no longer produce the DNA specimen extracted from the cadaver of the rape victim. Two of the accused have also been acquitted by the RTC on the basis of their defence of alibis. Like Alejo, Herbas also at first instance identified Joel de Jesus as one of the gunmen during a police line-up but later withdraw his statement in open court. The SC identified the inconsistencies and the incredible facts in Alfaros testimony: her claim that Hubert Jeffrey Webb and Carmela Vizconde had a relationship; that Carmela had another lover whom she met just before Hubert came to her home and that she saw in open the five other accused taking turns in raping Carmela. In this case, the existence of an earlier negative report on the NIIS record on file concerning the entry of appellant Webb into and his exit from the US on March 9, 1991, and October 26, 1992, respectively, had raised serious doubt on the veracity and accuracy of the subsequently issued second certification dated August 31, 1995 which is based merely on a computer print-out of his alleged entry on March 9, 1991, and departure on October 26, 1992. Welcome to my maiden column in TheSTAR, now the countrys No. InVizconde case: The SC applied two tests in rejecting the positive identification of Alfaro: firstly, the credibility of a witness; secondly, the testimony should be believable, not inherently contrived. I will continue to play that role as long as I live. Shades of what happened in the 2004 elections, when a national official was paid a huge sum to run under a political party. Evid. As a host of the program that carries my surname, I and my all-female staff have handled complaints from citizens, concerning abusive or arrogant policemen and other government functionaries. The court also said that if Webb was in the U.S. when the crime was committed, the Alfaro's testimony would not hold together: "Without it, the evidence against the others must necessarily fall. After reading about how responsive Secretary Benhur Abalos is to matters raised by the media, some members of the PNP, particularly in the province of Iloilo, have shared through channels about their operational Local producers wont like it, but it looks like in the near future, there will be a flood of imported agricultural commodities. I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. The 47-year-old Estrellita had 13 stab wounds. She said that when she entered Hubert's room, she saw him wearing only his pants, awake and smoking in bed. On December 14, 2010, the SC rendered its decision on the appeals of the accused, questioning the guilty verdict by the RTC and the CA. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity of official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications are official documents, is misplaced. Webbs co-accused, Antonio Lejano, is a son of a known singer and celebrity. Pitong, an electrician who since 1982, already knew the Webb family claimed he saw a laundry woman wash a bloodied T-shirt on the morning of the crime. But, unlike the house robbers, however the court points out that "Webb and his friends did not have anything to do in a darkened garage. The trial began in August 1995 before Paraaque RTC Judge Amelita Tolentino. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. 176864. And while justice seems elusive, life must go on, Vizcondes grandniece Katherine Asuncion said, reading from a family statement. On October 1, 1996, Judge Amelita Tolentino admitted only 10 of the 142 pieces of evidence the defense presented. The SC required this test as necessary before a testimony of positive identification could be accepted as credible and with merit. Therefore, the SCs rejection of Villamaras opinion demonstrates a fundamental contradiction to its September 7 decision on the Abadilla case. She added that suspect Miguel Rodriguez warned her to "shut up or you're gonna get killed" in the same disco on April 8, 1995, prompting her to voluntarily submit herself to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for protection. De Lima said they could still go after Filart and Ventura, as well as the Villadolid brothers, since the prescriptive period of 20 years for homicide does not apply to them because they were abroad. 124871, May 13, 2004. Jubilation by the citizenry greeted the report of his appointment. Webb presented certifications from the U.S. Immigration but he failed to submit as evidence in court the original copy of his passport with immigration entry stamped on it. Nephews had posted a banner declaring Truth prevails 20 years after and demanding Final justice for the Vizconde massacre victims, in apparent reference to government probers claims that, contrary to his alibi, released murder convict Hubert Webb never left the country. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories | Martin Rules. Sources from the Department of Justice said Webb, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court last December, 2010, was in the country during and after the crime happened in . The Jessica Alfaro Story in 1995 was meanwhile focused on the star witness, portrayed by Alice Dixson. They were victims of gory murder; Carmela was raped before she was killed. In a decision dated January 6, 2000, Paraaque Regional Trial Court Judge Amelita Tolentino convicted Webb and the co . About the Show; You May Also Like . The term dirty politics is appropriate for that kind of set-up. Published July 4, 2011 7:24pm. Alfaro implicated the children of wealthy and prominent families, including Hubert Webb, Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Vffrillaret and Artemio Ventura. His intention was very, very dubious, he said. True Crime. The court said the "portion of Alfaro's story appears tortured to accommodate the physical evidence of the ransacked house" adding that "it is a story made to fit in with the crime scene although robbery was supposedly not the reason Webb and his companions entered that house". This has resulted in the revelation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that they no longer had the specimens as these were remanded to the Paraaque courts. 16:53. Hubert argued that the specimen could exonerate him from the charge and support his defence that he did not rape the victim. The Vizconde murders remained unsolved for almost four years, until eyewitness Jessica Alfaro, a self-confessed former drug addict, came forward on April 28, 1995, to shed light on the massacre. Based on the infamous and seemingly never ending 1991 Vizconde murder case in the Philippines where a woman and her two children; a teen daughter who was also raped and a 6-year-old, were all viciously stabbed to death while the husband was away in America on business. Firstly, the SC held Alfaro was not a credible witness. When she could not produce the person, Sacaguing continued to press her saying that she might as well assume the role of her informant.. [11], The defense produced documents and presented 95 witnesses, including Hubert Webb himself and his father, along with other relatives and friends to support Webb's alibi that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 26, 1992. There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said. [61], The findings also point to another set of suspects, namely Dong Villadolid and his brother Bing. 132577 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, 1999, G.R. Ateneo law professor Alan Paguia: "The order of release is questionable as it appears to be undemocratic. De Lima also said seven new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country during the months of April, May and June 1991. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." Needless to say, were unpopular with the PNP and other government agencies that citizens transact business with. Defence of Alibi: In Vizconde case not admissible, in Abadilla case court acted on conjectures. [49], On January 4, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said suspect Joey Filart was spotted in the United States. The defense questioned Alfaro's credibility noting that she admitted to being under the influence of drugs when she allegedly witnessed the crime and had made inconsistent statements on her two affidavits. However, the court pointed out that while Webb or his parents may be able to "arrange for the local immigration to put a March 9, 1991 departure stamp on his passport and an October 27, 1992 arrival stamp", they could not fix a foreign airlines passenger manifest, and the U.S. Immigration's record system. The women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. [50], On January 18, 2011, the Supreme Court denied Lauro Vizconde's motion to reverse the acquittal because of double jeopardy. It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies. [12] (Under Philippine law, generally, alibi is the weakest defense, especially where there is direct testimony of an eyewitness, duly corroborated by another. This is despite questions to his credibility for receiving money and enjoying privileges while he was in Abadillas custody and the existence of inconsistencies in his testimonies in open court. Massacre era. She said the US-based defense witnesses, most of whom are relatives or friends of the Webb family suffered from "incorrigible and selective memory syndrome". The SC rendered its judgment on the Abadilla case on September 7 and on the Vizconde case on December 14 of this year [2010]. Once again, the SCs applications of jurisprudence on the admissibility of forensic evidence in criminal trial have not been equally applied. I got my style of writing when I was a reporter, news writer and newsreader on radio during the pre-martial law era, and as a deskman and feature writer of the Philippines News Agency (PNA). 176864 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et. At about 4 a.m. on June 30, 1991, Gaviola woke up and entered the bedrooms to get the Webb's dirty laundry and wash it as part of her job. Webb wanted Alfaro, the then-girlfriend of one of the accused men, Peter Estrada, to join them because Estrellita Vizconde only allowed her daughter to go out and entertain female visitors. VIZCONDE MASSACRE CASE: This case is about the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman, the murder of her 7-year-old sister and their mother on June 30, 1991 at their home in Paranaque City, Metro Manila. Sison was ordered to desist from further investigating that angle by then Philippine National Police Capital Region Commander Marino Filart after six members of akyat bahay gang (burglars) were arrested by Regional Police Unit in October 1991. Asuncion, 27, was a constant playmate of Jennifer Vizconde, who was 7 years old when she was killed. 'Ms. People cried for justice for the Vizcondes and one of the suspects was Hubert Webb, son of then Paraaque congressman Freddie Webb, who later became a senator. I will kill you, brandishing a shiny revolver. Based on the infamous and seemingly never ending 1991 Vizconde murder case in the Philippines where a woman and her two children; a teen daughter who was also raped and a 6-year-old, were all viciously stabbed to death while the husband was away in America on business. 24, Rule 134, R. Youd be surprised who the people are behind the call for his extension; some of them are top politicians. Alejo had been under the Abadillas custody and protection instead of that of the WPP of the government. Tolentino also said, the photographs and videotapes purportedly showing Webb in the United States appeared to be tampered.
the truth about vizconde massacre
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