He then hurled the little girl to a wall and started stabbing her. The unconstitutionality of prior restraint. 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. [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. After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. Sign up now! 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. vs. People of the Philippines et al., 1997, G.R. This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 03:37. Be consoled that the truth will always come out, Hernandez advised Vizconde. 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. The readers will notice soon enough the brevity of each topic. His intention was very, very dubious, he said. [29], The court said that "among the accused, Webb presented the strongest alibi". Call 896 6000. 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. 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. On January 4, 2000, the Regional Trial Court of Paranaque City rendered its judgement finding all the accused guilty as charged imposing a penalty of life imprisonment. Alfaro said she was then having reservations when she first executed the first affidavit and held back vital information due to her natural reaction of mistrust. The film claims to have been based on new evidence from the then-ongoing trial. The most significant topic that Ive ever written about and which I personally got involved in was the Vizconde massacre. ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. 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. 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. 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. But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. But to Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paranaque Regional Trial Court, the truth was the account of star witness Jessica Alfaro. She had been hanging around that agency for sometime as a stool pigeon, one paid for mixing up with criminals and squealing on them. As to the failure to present the forensic evidence and its subsequent loss, the SC held: the semen specimen taken from Carmela cannot possibly lie. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. The other defendants were Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. ), Among evidence that was not admitted by Judge Tolentino, was the note verbale from the United States Embassy in Manila claiming that Webb entered the United States in March 1991 and left in October 1992. Includes gruesome real photos from the crime scene. Vizconde Massacre: The hidden Truth - Facebook 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. Reporters jostled with Vizcondes relatives and friends in his garage, where Fr. At any rate, Rameses de Jesus admitted that they were using the new car of Lenido Lumanog. 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. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine Senator, Freddie Webb; and six others from a wealthy family background similar to that of the accused. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. Originally, there were seven accused charged in this case. June 30, 1991 for a bicycle he bought from a store in Orange County, Los Angeles, California. On SPO2 Cesar Fortuna, the RTC, the CA and the SC, accepted the fact that he was at Camp Crame, but the SC affirmed the RTC and the CAs conjecture that it was not impossible for him to have gone to Katipunan road, Blue Ridge, which is relatively near Camp Crame when the shooting happened around 8.40 in the morning. Her mother, Estrellita, 47, and sister, Jennifer, 7, were also killed. InAbadilla case: The SC admitted the positive identification of witness Freddie Alejo when it considered him a credible witness. 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. I did that hoping to make them have second thoughts about doing so,.There is no justice in the Philippines. The lower courts, however, reasoned that "Webb's alibi cannot stand against Alfaro's positive identification of him." All rights are reserved. 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. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! - IMDb [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. [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. And while justice seems elusive, life must go on, Vizcondes grandniece Katherine Asuncion said, reading from a family statement. LYN RILLON. 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 NBI is a special investigating body attached to the DoJ. Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito. (Fuck you all! Aug 5, 2008. Therefore, the applications of the SC on evaluating the defence of alibi of the accused have not been equally applied in these two cases. Early Thursday, Lauro Vizconde went to Holy Cross Memorial Park and laid bouquets of roses on the tombs of his wife and daughters. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, Do not cheat him. The Jessica Alfaro Story in 1995 was meanwhile focused on the star witness, portrayed by Alice Dixson. He also ordered the Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima to study the possibility of giving compensation to Webb and others. 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. 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. She also testified that Biong received money at a house that she later learned belonged to then Paraaque Congressman Freddie Webb; the Webb family's maids, Mila Gaviola and Nerissa Rosales, who both testified that Hubert Webb was at home on June 30, 1991. Ateneo law professor Alan Paguia: "The order of release is questionable as it appears to be undemocratic. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. 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. [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 Vizconde Massacre. Knowing this, I cannot but hesitate to swallow everything that Alejo said at the trial. Democrito Barcenas, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City president and regional coordinator of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG): I think that most of the justices are right in their decision. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories - Anchor [17], On January 6, 2000, Judge Tolentino rendered her decision, finding Hubert Webb, Peter Estrada, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Antonio Lejano II and Miguel Rodriguez guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape with homicide. But I could not work there), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman. The SC, however, held that by failing to prove the existence of a relationship between Hubert and Carmela; and that the lover that Alfaro claimed that Carmela had met did not come forward in public or in court, her testimonies about the accused and the victims were like a piece of jigsaw puzzle trimmed to fit into the shape on the board but does not belong because it clashes with the surrounding pieces and the lover was a mere ghost of the imagination of Alfaro, the woman who made a living informing on criminals. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Vizconde said he was optimistic about finding more witnesses.. 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 the Vizconde case, the SC does not accept conjecture as the basis of its decision. 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. 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". 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. . Sulu in the eyes of my good friend Princess Jacel Kiram is a potential eco-tourism destination and fruit basket of the country. [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. Executive M/Sgt. The majority of the justices also rejected as conjecture the argument of one of the dissenting justices, Martin Villarama Jr., that it would not have been impossible during the interregnum for Webb to travel back to the country and again fly to the US several times considering that the travel time on board an airline from the Philippines to San Francisco, and from San Francisco to the Philippines takes only about twelve (12) to fourteen (14) hours. 185123/G.R. The court ruled that Alfaro was "a stool pigeon, one who earned her living by fraternizing with criminals so she could squeal on them to her NBI handlers." 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. One of the important pieces of evidence, which I presented to the court later, was the copy of an invoice issued to Hubert Webb on coincidence of coincidences! 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. X' key to real perpetrators of Vizconde murders? 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. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. 176864 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et. 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. Rodolfo Sison, the police investigator originally assigned to the case in 1991. 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. The court rejected his testimony because he was a disgruntled witness.
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