It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. Firstly, in the Vizconde case, the SC still held as credible the corroborating testimonies of the witnesses favouring Hubert Jeffrey who are mostly his relatives and friends in support of his defence of alibi. The President has time and again said that he was very tired of running the country and, if he had his way, would have stepped down. In a decision dated January 6, 2000, Paraaque Regional Trial Court Judge Amelita Tolentino convicted Webb and the co . [58] George, a drug dealer, claimed he was introduced to Webb by former SPO1 Gerardo Biong sometime in April 1991 where the young Webb allegedly purchased from him 10grams of shabu worth P10,000. 2. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. I stood my ground because I had all the facts in my hand. The public and the media continue to watch as the years go by . 'Ms. It was also not true that there was no showing that he (Alejo) was actuated by improper motive to testify falsely against the accused because the defence had since been challenging his credibility during the trial. De Lima said the evidence that showed Webb and any of the co-accused were in the country came from the magnetic reel tape (MRT) of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) where all records of incoming and outgoing passengers from the Philippines are recorded.
Visconde Masscre - Weebly [46], President Benigno Aquino III ordered the law enforcement agencies to re-investigate the case six months before the prescription period lapses. The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. Di naman ako puwede magtrabaho don (If that's the case, then I should have had a salary. Similar to the Vizconde case, the five accused made a defence of alibi claiming that they were somewhere else on June 13, 1996 when the murder of Abadilla happened. June 14, 1993 - Vizconde Massacre solved; 'brains,' three others fall Police finish investigation of the Vizconde case with the arrest of the suspected mastermind and three other suspects,. : Directed by Carlo J. Caparas. April 28, 1995 Jessica Alfaro presents herself as a witness and accuses Hubert Webb. Philstar.com is one of the most vibrant, opinionated, discerning communities of readers on cyberspace. The jurisprudence mentioned above that the SC invoked has not been equally applied. [11], Alfaro's testimony was corroborated by other witnesses including: Lolita Birrer, a former live-in partner of policeman Gerardo Biong, who narrated the manner of how Biong investigated and tried to cover up the crime. But I could not work there), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman. The NBI is the agency responsible in providing security and protection of witnesses admitted under WPP. The court rejected his testimony because he was a disgruntled witness. Vizconde said his quest for justice was continuing despite the end of the prescription period for the prosecution of his familys killers. My program is the originalsumbungan ng bayan sa radyo(roughly, citizens complaint center on radio). Alfaro also said that she bumped into Biong at the Faces Disco in Makati in March 1995 and relayed to her the offer of the group to give her a free ticket to the United States to shut her up. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. Call 896 6000. By providing an email address. Webb was the prime suspect of the infamous homicide that occurred on June 30, 1991. Villarama noted that the alleged Passport, Passenger Manifest of United Airlines Flight and United Airline ticket of accused Webb offered in evidence were mere photocopies of an alleged original, which were never presented. Lejano and Ventura also took turns raping Carmela, before finishing her off with numerous stabs. ABADILLA MURDER CASE: This case is about the murder of Rolando Abadilla, a police colonel during Marcos regime, at 8:30 on June 13, 1996 at the Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.
Vizconde massacre timeline | Philstar.com Apart from Alejo, earlier there was another witness, Merlito Herbas.
Violent Vizconde Massacre | Crimes That Shocked Asia - YouTube The remains of his wife and daughters were also exhumed from their grave at Holy Cross Memorial Park in Quezon City and transferred to his grave. Powered by, Appendix: Case analysis: Supreme Courts rulings on Vizconde and Abadilla cases are contradictory, http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm, http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm, http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-FinalAppealPetition.pdf, http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. Cabanacan said Webb had entered the subdivision (where the Vizconde house was located) a few days before the massacre and that he even identified himself as the son of then Congressman Webb. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." [24] This was categorically denied by the Supreme Court as Justice Carpio had in fact recused himself from the case and was not going to take part in the deliberation. [6][7][8] The suspects said they were tortured and forced to confess to the crime before they were presented by Filart to the media. 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. The Vizconde murders remained unsolved for almost four years, until 1995 when eyewitness Jessica Alfaro, a self-confessed drug addict, came forward on April 28, 1995, to shed light on the massacre. [53], Lauro Vizconde, family patriarch and the founding president of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, died on February 13, 2016, at the age of 77. The readers will notice soon enough the brevity of each topic. Yes, but what can I do (?). Many of the stories in my columns in previous newspapers were complaints from citizens. [29], In his dissenting opinion, Justice Villarama argued that the claim of Webb that he could not have committed the crime because he left for the United States on March 9, 1991, and returned to the Philippines only on October 26, 1992, was correctly rejected by the Regional Trial Court and Court of Appeals. [51] On March 18, Hubert Webb filed a lawsuit against Jessica Alfaro for false testimony at the Paraaque Prosecutor's Office. 127262 Hubert Webb, et al. [12] (Under Philippine law, generally, alibi is the weakest defense, especially where there is direct testimony of an eyewitness, duly corroborated by another. In the said stockroom, there is a small door going to Hubert's room and in that door there is a small opening where she used to see Hubert and his friends sniffing on something. Early Thursday, Lauro Vizconde went to Holy Cross Memorial Park and laid bouquets of roses on the tombs of his wife and daughters. A news report on Thursday in Business Mirror that headlined Senate grills defense brass on plans for EDCA expansion, sites raised much curiosity for its sheer lack of detailed information. Alfaro accused Hubert Webb, son of former senator Freddie Webb, as the mastermind of the massacre, along with five other men, all coming from prominent families. 176864 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories | Martin Rules. Indeed, the testimony of a single witness, when positive and credible, is sufficient to support a conviction even for murder.
VIZCONDE MASSACRE: After 20 Years | GMA News Online When she could not produce the person, Sacaguing continued to press her saying that she might as well assume the role of her informant.. In their alibis, Joel de Jesus claimed he was driving his passenger tricycle in Fairview, Quezon City the whole day; for SPO2 Cesar Fortuna, he was at Camp Crame (headquarters of the Philippine National Police, PNP) for official business and his presence was also corroborated by two police officials whom he had transacted business with; for Augusto Santos, he was at the Jose Fabella Hospital in Sta. In rejecting questions to Alejos credibility, the SC affirmed the CAs ruling that the credible testimony of a lone witness(es) assumes more weight when there is no showing that he was actuated by improper motive to testify falsely against the accused, as in the case of Freddie Alejo. Besides the horror itself, the suspected perpetrators included high-society figures. I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. From there she allegedly saw Lejano and Ventura take a knife from the kitchen drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. It is hard to believe this there is a record of supposed arrival from other country but no record of departure in 1991 or in any month of 1991, she said. ), Moreover, Judge Tolentino also denied Webb's request to subject semen samples to DNA testing on the belief that the samples may no longer be intact. a contribution to Human Rights work, Asian Human Rights Commission After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. InVizconde case: The SC has given weight to the importance of forensic evidence in a court trial. Since I was introduced to The STAR readers in the front page, Ill hit the ground running. Theyre projecting Digong as a feeble old man still seeking power. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! Don't miss out on the latest news and information. To support this, Webb presented a Certification issued by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service of August 31, 1995 confirming that his entry into that country was recorded.
Appendix: Case analysis: Supreme Court's rulings on Vizconde and [47], On December 28, 2010, new witnesses have come forward accusing Hubert Webb and others of allegedly being behind the Vizconde massacre. Herbas and Alejo worked for the Abadillas as security guards. The SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. While the SC rejected Alfaros testimony being not a credible witness, it held Alejo still a credible witness despite the inconsistencies in his testimony. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. 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. To find out more, please click this link. The women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. The unconstitutionality of prior restraint.
Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories - Anchor Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito. (Fuck you all! al., 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vizconde_murders&oldid=1138122178, Loss of DNA evidence not a ground for outright acquittal. [2][20], The court ruled that the Paraaque RTC was correct in sentencing Webb et al. No. [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. 176864. Similar to the accused in the Vizconde case, all the accused in the Abadilla case invoked their defence of alibi. [5] The other defendants were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court, which the Court of Appeals affirmed. 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. I went to the US to check on senator Webbs allegations I paid for my fare and accommodation, by the way and found that, indeed, Hubert was there when the Vizconde women were being butchered at their home in Paraaque. Three days after that, he was allegedly approached by Mrs. Webb who reportedly told him, You did not see anything. A week after, Sen. Freddie Webb allegedly told him, You did not see anything. On April 28, 1995, National Bureau of Investigations asset and self-confessed drug user Jessica Alfaro came forward to police authorities to shed light on the killing of the Vizconde family. Justo Cabanacan, the security supervisor of the gated community, said that he saw Webb enter the gated community, although he did not record Webb entering in his log book. 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. [2][12] Security guards Justo Cabanacan and Normal White. The passing away of Lauro Vizconde a few days ago does not close the sad chapter on the tragedy known as the Vizconde massacre. A second movie, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II, was released in 1994. This policewoman is either ignorant of the law or plain lazy. G.R. The people urging President Rodrigo Digong Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 elections are making fun of him.