Vizconde Massacre Case - Pinoy Stories Be consoled that the truth will always come out, Hernandez advised Vizconde. At the end of February, the Bureau of Fire Protection held a parade featuring some of its trucks and equipment as well as new regular personnel: women firefighters. Birrer said she had accompanied Biong to the Vizconde house to destroy the evidence and to retrieve Webb's jacket and the murder weapon. Based on my findings, I defended Hubert in my column and in my radio and TV programs. Alejo had been under the Abadillas custody and protection instead of that of the WPP of the government. May I invite you to watch?).
New Vizconde massacre witness found | Inquirer News Vizconde Massacre | FreebookSummary Alejos testimonies in open court were also not consistent to what he had said to the police investigators immediately after the murder.
The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! - IMDb [2] Alfaro said that policeman Gerardo Biong "was instructed by Webb, in my presence, to take care of the house where the incident happened". [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. Webb was the prime suspect of the infamous homicide that occurred on June 30, 1991. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. The case of the Vizconde Massacre took another direction only after four years, when Jessica Alfaro surfaced and became the case's star witness. 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. Remember when I made the disclosure that someone is pressuring the justices to vote for a reversal? The Vizconde murder case, colloquially known as the Vizconde massacre, was the multiple homicide of members of the Vizconde family on June 30, 1991 at their residence at 80 Vinzons Street, BF Homes, Paraaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. He said that he heard Hubert Webb quarreling with another young looking customer. 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. Aug 5, 2008. Webb's testimony was also contradicted by other US-based defense witnesses who said they usually saw him "going to the beach, malling, bar-hopping or playing basketball. No. So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. 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. 'Ms. 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. The SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. To find out more, please click this link. The unconstitutionality of prior restraint. I am not an NBI agent nor an NBI asset. I got involved in the case after Webb told me Hubert, whose name was slowly cropping up in news reports as a prime suspect, was in the United States when the dastardly crime happened. We have ruled that accused-appellant may not invoke the acquittal of the other conspirators to merit the reversal of his conviction for murder. al., 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vizconde_murders&oldid=1138122178, Loss of DNA evidence not a ground for outright acquittal. There was only one vital witness for the prosecution, Freddie Alejo. (1994) Details Release date June 24, 1993 (Philippines) Country of origin Philippines Languages English Filipino Tagalog Filming locations It is time to heal the past. Those initially jailed for. 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. Apart from Alejo, earlier there was another witness, Merlito Herbas. Webb's travel documents and other paper trail of his stay in the US are unreliable proof of his absence in the Philippines at the time of the commission of the crime charged. The men were released on Dec. 14 last year, after the Supreme Court dismissed the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro against Webb. Guillermo Lorenzo Guilor Eleazar, recently appointed chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), bows out on Nov. 13 this year when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56. Vizconde massacre. Defence of Alibi: In Vizconde case not admissible, in Abadilla case court acted on conjectures. You are just a few clicks away from making
Vizconde massacre case: Back to square one | ABS-CBN News 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. [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. She said that when she entered Hubert's room, she saw him wearing only his pants, awake and smoking in bed. 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. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity of official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications are official documents, is misplaced. 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. However, keep in mind not to be vindictive. "[21], In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA testing to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during autopsy from Carmela Vizconde. The court also amended the award of damages from 100,000 pesos to 200,000 pesos, and also upheld the conviction of Biong as accessory to the crime "by abusing his public functions to conceal and destroy the physical evidence in order to prevent the discovery of the crime and by allowing the destruction of the physical evidence, Biong facilitated the escape of the principal accused. [47], On December 28, 2010, new witnesses have come forward accusing Hubert Webb and others of allegedly being behind the Vizconde massacre. [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]. 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. I will continue to play that role as long as I live. Suspicions, no matter how strong they are, must never sway judgment. 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. The CA held that these ballistic results are inconclusive and can never prevail over appellants positive identification by eyewitness Freddie Alejo. December 14, 2010:http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm Her mother, Estrellita, 47, and sister, Jennifer, 7, were also killed. [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. The Vizconde murder case, colloquially known as the Vizconde massacre, was the multiple homicide of members of the Vizconde family on June 30, 1991 at their residence at 80 Vinzons Street, BF Homes, Paraaque, Metro Manila, Philippines.Estrellita Vizconde, 49, suffered thirteen stab wounds; Maria Carmela Vizconde, 19, suffered seventeen stab wounds and had been raped before she was killed . Among those present were former Vice President Teofisto Guingona; Arsenio Boy Evangelista, father of carjack victim Venson Evangelista; Dacer-Corbito witness Cezar Mancao and his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio; and members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC). Hubert argued that the specimen could exonerate him from the charge and support his defence that he did not rape the victim. 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. October 1, 1996 Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paraaque RTC rejected 132 of the defense's 142 pieces of evidence. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. 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. a contribution to Human Rights work, Asian Human Rights Commission The term dirty politics is appropriate for that kind of set-up. No. Among the defense witnesses was Artemio Sacaguing, a former, now deceased NBI official who testified that Alfaro was an NBI asset who only volunteered to assume the role of the eyewitness when she could not produce the actual witness to the Vizconde killings. Hopefully, if they will surface, public pressure will snowball and I will finally get the justice I am looking for, he said. The court argued that the cited case has been superseded by Arizona v. Youngblood, "where the U.S. Supreme Court held that due process does not require the State to preserve the semen specimen although it might be useful to the accused unless the latter is able to show bad faith on the part of the prosecution or the police". A second movie, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II May The Lord Be With Us, was released in 1994 and starred Vina Morales as Carmela and Joko Daz as an assailant. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. [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. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine . The prosecution did not present him as their witness during the trial. [165] The discrepancies between a sworn statement and testimony in court do not outrightly justify the acquittal of an accused,[166] as testimonial evidence carries more weight than an affidavit. The prosecutors, the RTC and the CA have been made aware of this fact by the defence. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. starring Kris Aquino as Carmela Vizconde. This coincided with his passport and Philippine Immigration records but were dismissed by Tolentino due to belief that these documents can possibly be falsified. Fax: +(852) 2698 6367, Copyright 2023 Asian Human Rights Commission. Jennifer woke up and, seeing Webb violating her sister, jumped on him and bit him. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. Several jeepney drivers groups have called for an unprecedented one-week strike next week to demand extension of the deadline for phasing out traditional vehicles and replacing them with modern It will take over 200 years for women to be at par with men, a news report from Davos said. [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. 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. Knowing this, I cannot but hesitate to swallow everything that Alejo said at the trial. Im still hoping for a miracle to happen.
VIZCONDE MASSACRE: After 20 Years | GMA News Online 1. 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. ", The victims of the massacre (from left to right): Jennifer, Carmela, and Estrellita Vizconde, "The Vizconde massacre: Justice not served", "Lauro Vizconde to be buried in same grave with family Wednesday", "Manila Standard Google News Archive Search", "The Manila Times Internet Edition SPECIAL REPORT > Questions linger in Vizconde case", The Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 31, 2010, "Philippine Daily Inquirer Google News Archive Search", "NBI exec: We've turned over semen specimen from Vizconde girl to court", "2 SC justices asked to go on leave pending Vizconde decision", "SC sues for time, defers ruling on Vizconde case", Philippine Daily Inquirer, SC Acquits Webb et al, "Supreme Court decision on Webb et al re Vizconde Massacre", Lauro Vizconde in tears, Webbs on 'cloud nine', Gary, Kris speak up on Hubert's acquittal, Outrage over decision, sympathy for Vizconde, Ruling raises more questions, lawyers point out, Vizconde kin question why Webb was released so quickly, Alfaro unwilling to testifying anew in Vizconde case Jessica Alfaro stands by story, Criminal law experts umalma sa pag-absuwelto ng SC kay Webb, Ex-VP Guingona to SC: Reverse Webb's acquittal to give justice to Vizconde, "Another 'Joey Filart' still under detention", "New Vizconde massacre witnesses surface", New witnesses to prove Webb in PH during Vizconde massacre, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Hubert Webb seeks P180K compensation for 'unlawful' conviction, NBI, PNP teams probe 3 sets of Vizconde slay suspects, Vizconde massacre has new set of witnesses, Evidence, witnesses 'shatter' Webb alibi: task force, DoJ chief: No credible proof of Webb in crime scene, De Lima hints at explosive breakthrough in Vizconde probe. [50], On January 18, 2011, the Supreme Court denied Lauro Vizconde's motion to reverse the acquittal because of double jeopardy. Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde. Lorenzo delos Santos was acquitted due to lack of evidence, but the RTC, the CA and the SC ignored that fact that the same positive identification it invoked in convicting the Abadilla Five came from exactly the same testimonies that have been used to acquit Delos Santos. Pray to them. He adds, this Court takes judicial notice of reported irregularities and tampering of passports in the years prior to the recent issuance by the Department of Foreign Affairs(DFA) of machine-readable passports. al, 1995, G.R. She cited the testimony of Alex del Toro, husband of Webb's relative, who said he hired Hubert Webb as an employee at his pesticide company in California. Theyre projecting Digong as a feeble old man still seeking power. Nine years later, still no clarity on EDCA sites. 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. No. No. It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies.
The Murder of an Entire Family While Dad Was Abroad for Work Footnote: This article comprises the text of a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission, AHRC-STM-266-2010, dated 21 December 2010. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." 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. Cruz, Manila accompanying his brother-in-law, Jonas Padel Ayhon, whose wife had just given birth; and Rameses de Jesus and Lenido Lumanog had just left Manila for Mabalacat, Pampanga where they stayed until the evening of June 14. The other accused were Artemio Dong Ventura, Michael A. Gatchalian, Hospicio Pyke Fernandez, Peter Estrada, Miguel Ging Rodriguez, and Joey Filart. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. April 28, 1995 Jessica Alfaro presents herself as a witness and accuses Hubert Webb. Unreliability of Jessica Alfaro's testimony: Alfaro had prior knowledge on the facts of the case having been an, Alfaro was not able to explain why the house was ransacked if robbery was not the motive of Webb and his group, Unreliability of testimony from other witnesses, Alfaro's testimony will fall apart if Webb was not at the crime scene and will relieve the others accused of the crime.