the truth about vizconde massacre

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. It held that a positive declaration from a witness that he saw the accused commit the crime should not automatically cancel out the accuseds claim that he did not do it. The case of the Vizconde Massacre took another direction only after four years, when Jessica Alfaro surfaced and became the case's star witness. Copyright 2023. [25][26], On December 14, 2010, the Supreme Court reversed the earlier judgment of the lower court and Court of Appeals and acquitted seven of the nine accused, including Hubert Webb, finding that the prosecution failed to prove that the accused were guilty beyond reasonable doubt. :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. 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. SC slams 'unbelievable' testimony of Vizconde massacre witness Hell never return to the Philippines, said the Thai tourist whose cash was filched by Manila airport security personnel. Hence, it was not physically impossible for them to travel to Quezon City via the North Expressway at the time the crime took place; On Augusto Santos, the corroboration of his brother-in-law, Jonas Padel Ayhon, that he was at the Jose Fabella Hospital when the crime happened, the CA rejected his corroboration because he was not an impartial witness and ruled that where nothing supports the alibi than the testimony of a relative, it deserves scant consideration. Biong walks free, insists he's innocent | ABS-CBN News 187745. As already mentioned, the SC concluded Alfaro to be not a credible witness because she did not meet these two criteria. 150 likes. Hubert Webb - Wikipedia Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. This was how Lauro Vizcondes relatives summed it up on Thursday night after a Mass marking the 20th anniversary of the death of his wife Estrellita and daughters Carmela and Jennifer. Kaya laban lang tayo. 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. As a result, the court reverses the decision of the Court of Appeals, and acquits Webb, et al. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened, he said. Biong was released from jail on November 30, 2010, after serving his sentence. But the grieving father couldn't distinguish the truth from the lies. Police assets are often criminals themselves. The CA in effect crafted and formulated the conjectures giving them the appreciation similar to facts offered as evidence where it had based the judgment. But I could not work there), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman. The film claims to have been based on new evidence from the then-ongoing trial. SC acquits Hubert Webb, 6 others in Vizconde massacre The NBI is a special investigating body attached to the DoJ. All rights are reserved. Methinks one year would give Eleazar ample time impose his brand of discipline on one of the most undisciplined police forces in the world. Visconde Masscre - Weebly The people urging President Rodrigo Digong Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 elections are making fun of him. The Vizconde Massacre. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? InAbadilla case: The SC admitted the positive identification of witness Freddie Alejo when it considered him a credible witness. Carpio testified for the defense during the trial. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. [8] If, on examination, the DNA of the subject specimen does not belong to Webb, then he did not rape Carmela. But big offenses, such as rape or attempted rape, should be filed with the police or the prosecutors office. No. The SCs decision in acquitting all the accused in the Vizconde case has fundamental contradictions to its earlier decision affirming the guilty verdict of the accused in the Abadilla case. When the accused appealed the decision, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the judgement of conviction by the RTC. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. Alejo had been under the Abadillas custody and protection instead of that of the WPP of the government. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. Herbas had testified for the defence instead of the prosecution when the Abadilla did not fulfil his promise to give him (Herbas) exactly the same salary he was receiving and when he was told that he would no longer be presented as witness because the testimony of Alejo would be sufficient. Estrellita, 47, had suffered thirteen stab wounds; Carmela, 18, had suffered seventeen stab wounds and had been raped before she was killed; and Jennifer, 7, had nineteen stab . The politician would only be allowed by the spouse to run if the party that this politician will join can come up with a big amount for their family. Therefore, the applications of the SC on evaluating the defence of alibi of the accused have not been equally applied in these two cases. December 14, 2010:http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm [12] On July 24, 1997, the Supreme Court noted that Tolentino erred when she refused to admit the 132 pieces of evidence presented by the defense, although these were later admitted in court through an order issued by Tolentino.[12][16]. Reporters jostled with Vizcondes relatives and friends in his garage, where Fr. 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. No. 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. From there she allegedly saw Lejano and Ventura take a knife from the kitchen drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. Alfaro had testified that she knew the suspects and was at the Vizconde house when the crime was committed. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. The Jessica Alfaro Story in 1995 was meanwhile focused on the star witness, portrayed by Alice Dixson. 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. Executive M/Sgt. SC slams 'unbelievable' testimony of Vizconde massacre witness. 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. While the SC rejected Alfaros testimony being not a credible witness, it held Alejo still a credible witness despite the inconsistencies in his testimony. The lead suspect was Hubert Webb whose father, Freddie Webb was famous as an actor, former basketball player, and Paraaque congressman at the time of the murders. I told my family that I did my best. [2][3] Estrellita Vizconde, 49, suffered thirteen stab wounds; Carmela Vizconde, 19, suffered seventeen stab wounds and had been raped before she was killed; and Anne Marie Jennifer, 6, had nineteen stab wounds. Shades of what happened in the 2004 elections, when a national official was paid a huge sum to run under a political party. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. [19], The Court of Appeals' Third Division voted 32 to deny Webb's motion for reconsideration and upheld the ruling of Judge Tolentino on December 16, 2005. Alfaro testified that as Webb followed Carmela into the dining room, she decided to step outside for a smoke. [60] De Lima believed Dong Villadolid is the same person as Dong Ventura, one of the co-accused who fled to the US following the massacre. [55], On June 28, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Hubert Webb was in the Philippines when the murders took place. They cannot be the bases of conviction as they cannot substitute for the constitutional requirement of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. But her parents did not allow her to go. [22], On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal. The CA rather held that positive and unequivocal declaration is sufficient to support a conviction which was affirmed by the SC. 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. 2. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. Webbs son, Hubert Jeffrey, is also the brother of a television host, Pinky, in one of the largest television networks in the country. Be consoled that the truth will always come out, Hernandez advised Vizconde. Justice Villarama argued that a photocopy of Webbs passport in court to support his alibi and the testimonies of witnesses, mostly his relatives and friends, could not be given merit, by cautioning his fellow justices that it can be gleaned from the fact that passports and plane tickets indicating dates of arrival and departure do not necessarily prove that the very same person actually took the flight and added that indeed, alibi cannot be sustained where it is not only without credible corroboration, but also where it does not, on its face, demonstrate the physical impossibility of the accuseds presence at the place and time of the commission of the crime. I will continue to play that role as long as I live. Fax: +(852) 2698 6367, Copyright 2023 Asian Human Rights Commission. The prosecution did not present him as their witness during the trial. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw the attention of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines to its recent decision on two well-known cases tried in the lower courts; the conviction in the Vizconde Massacre case was overturned while that of the Abadilla murder case was affirmed. A lying witness can make as positive an identification as a truthful witness can. 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. That's all crap! He then hurled the little girl to a wall and started stabbing her. Firstly, the SC held Alfaro was not a credible witness. 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. . You will regret it.[58][59] Jack, a village security guard who kept records of the village where Webb lived said he saw Hubert Webb during the time of the massacre. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. The Villadolid brothers were mentioned by a certain Rhoda Pujanes alias Dang, who claimed she overheard Villadolid and his friends, including Miguel Rodriguez and Michael Gatchalian (both co-accused of Webb), talking about the massacre during a pot session in 1991. Defence of Alibi: In Vizconde case not admissible, in Abadilla case court acted on conjectures. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! (1993) But in the Abadilla case, the relatives and friends are not an impartial witness to corroborate the defence of alibi of the accused. De Lima said it was possible that it was Black Maria who was in the Vizconde home and not Jessica Alfaro, the NBI's star witness during the trial. On Vizconde Massacre, Hubert Webb and the Quest for True Justice (1st The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. [15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the tone for their conviction. Acting solely on Alfaros testimony, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges of rape with homicide against the eight accused on August 1995. 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. No. She said that when she entered Hubert's room, she saw him wearing only his pants, awake and smoking in bed. 'Hubert Webb was in PH during Vizconde massacre' - ABS-CBN News The ballistic test results also did not match to any of the firearms supposedly taken from the accused to the empty shells that were recovered at the crime scene. The 47-year-old Estrellita had 13 stab wounds. TRUTH OUT, HEALING BEGINS. 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. due to "overwhelming evidence that showed Webb and the other accused had conspired to rape Carmela and, in the process, kill her and the rest of the family." No. 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. On October 1, 1996, Judge Amelita Tolentino admitted only 10 of the 142 pieces of evidence the defense presented. In the Philippines in 1992, the Vizconde Massacre, which saw the murder of multiple women who had been stabbed to death, created an investigation full of problems. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said the government task force re-investigating the 1991 Vizconde massacre case has found another witness and was convincing him to come out in public and

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