Vizconde massacre. No. 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. We have ruled that accused-appellant may not invoke the acquittal of the other conspirators to merit the reversal of his conviction for murder. The SC rendered its judgment on the Abadilla case on September 7 and on the Vizconde case on December 14 of this year [2010]. It would be a serious miscarriage of justice and a demonstration of inequality before the law should jurisprudence not be applied equally. 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. After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. 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. 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. Vizconde Massacre Case - Pinoy Stories Di naman ako puwede magtrabaho don (If that's the case, then I should have had a salary. [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. 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 RTC, however, acquitted Delos Santos despite being positively identified also by Alejo as one of those who was present at the crime scene. ), 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. Pray to them. For there is no law requiring that the testimony of a simple [sic] witness should be corroborated for it to be accorded full faith and credit. 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. He and six others spent 15 years in jail. When she could not produce the person, Sacaguing continued to press her saying that she might as well assume the role of her informant.. Since I was introduced to The STAR readers in the front page, Ill hit the ground running. 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. [29], The court also held that the testimony of the Webb's maid, Mila Gaviola, was also unreliable since she was not able to distinguish if it was Hubert whom she saw on June 30, 1991, nor "did she remember any of the details that happened in the household on the other days". [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. Suspicions, no matter how strong they are, must never sway judgment. The NBI is a special investigating body attached to the DoJ. All rights are reserved. 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. Methinks one year would give Eleazar ample time impose his brand of discipline on one of the most undisciplined police forces in the world. Acting solely on Alfaros testimony, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges of rape with homicide against the eight accused on August 1995. [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. This site uses cookies. 1. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. G.R. The public and the media continue to watch as the years go by . 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! InAbadilla case: Both the RTC and the CA did not apply this test of credibility of a witness before accepting the testimony of Alejo. Both Webb and del Toro could not describe in court what Hubert's work was, Tolentino said. Includes gruesome real photos from the crime scene. This policewoman is either ignorant of the law or plain lazy. 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. With the exception of Filart and Ventura who had been convicted in absentia the men were acquitted by the Supreme Court on December 14, 2010 for failure of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. 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. According to Rivera, Sacaguing was never part of the NBI team assigned to investigate the Vizconde massacre and that his former colleague took Alfaro's statement in April 1995 without the presence of a lawyer. 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. The Murder of an Entire Family While Dad Was Abroad for Work Abadilla Case Decision from the Court of Appeals:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. Vizconde Massacre: The hidden Truth - Facebook The High Court put to question the quality of the testamentary evidence furnished by the witnesses. Reporters jostled with Vizcondes relatives and friends in his garage, where Fr. Ateneo law professor Alan Paguia: "The order of release is questionable as it appears to be undemocratic. TV-14. The NBI is the agency responsible in providing security and protection of witnesses admitted under WPP. Vizconde murders - Wikipedia 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. On June 30, 1991, Estrellita Vizconde and her two daughters: Carmela and Jennifer, were found lifeless inside their home in Paraaque. 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." "[29] In general, the court said that Alfaro's story "lacks sense or suffers from inherent inconsistencies. 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. a contribution to Human Rights work, Asian Human Rights Commission The court noted the inconsistency between Alfaro's testimony of Webb being Carmela's boyfriend, who had no reason in breaking the glass panel of the house's front door to enter the house; Alfaro said that Webb "picked up some stone and, out of the blue, hurled it at the glass-paneled front door". 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. 3. Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. 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. But the grieving father couldn't distinguish the truth from the lies. [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. The SC required this test as necessary before a testimony of positive identification could be accepted as credible and with merit. Based on my findings, I defended Hubert in my column and in my radio and TV programs. 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. (1994) Details Release date June 24, 1993 (Philippines) Country of origin Philippines Languages English Filipino Tagalog Filming locations Hubert argued that the specimen could exonerate him from the charge and support his defence that he did not rape the victim. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the National Computer Center. [5] The other defendants were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court, which the Court of Appeals affirmed. Webb had presented the alibi that he was in the United States when the crime was committed, but he was still found guilty by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court. MANILA, Philippines - Six new witnesses reveal Hubert Webb, son of former Senator Freddie Webb, was in the Philippines when the Vizconde massacre took place on June 1991. 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. 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 . G.R. [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. I will kill you, brandishing a shiny revolver. White was mistaken in saying that Gatchalian and company went in and out of the gated community many times, since they only entered once. 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. During the trial, accused Webb made a defence of alibi claiming that he was in the United States when the massacre of the Vizcondes happened. They cannot be the bases of conviction as they cannot substitute for the constitutional requirement of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. 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. 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. : Directed by Carlo J. Caparas. Police assets are often criminals themselves. The court said that Alfaro was not a credible witness and that her "story of what she personally saw must be believable, not inherently contrived". They are Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and Joel de Jesus. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! - IMDb It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. She did not know nor met any of them. But both the RTC and the CA rejected his defence ruling that his alibi cannot stand against Alfaros positive identification of him as the rapist and killer. Former Paraaque City cop Gerardo Biong walked free from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City after serving a 12-year sentence. Birrer said she had accompanied Biong to the Vizconde house to destroy the evidence and to retrieve Webb's jacket and the murder weapon. 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September 7, 2010http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm 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. Their original conviction was capital punishment but their sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished. Jubilation by the citizenry greeted the report of his appointment. It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies. Still seeking justice for his family's grim fate, Lauro Vizconde exhausts all resources available to him. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. She did not show up at the NBI as a spontaneous witness (only after four years) bothered by her conscience. On June 30, 1991, 47-year-old housewife Estrellita Vizconde and daughters Carmela, 18, and Jennifer, 7, were found dead in their residence in BF Homes in Paraaque. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. [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. Appendix: Case analysis: Supreme Court's rulings on Vizconde and Please try again. [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]. Biong was released from jail on November 30, 2010, after serving his sentence. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. The details of how they were killed were grim. The Vizconde massacre made headlines in the Philippines in the '90s and started a trend in filmmaking. InAbadilla case: The SC admitted the positive identification of witness Freddie Alejo when it considered him a credible witness. Policewoman Diaz even insulted Allan, saying he had no right to file the attempted rape complaint on behalf of the girl, because he was only the stepfather. InVizconde case: The majority of the justices strongly argued against relying on conjectures on deciding the case, particularly on the claim that Hubert Jeffrey could have been in the Philippines, and not in the U.S., when the crime happened. [2] Two of the accused remain fugitives from the law: Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. 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. Let the love of God prevail. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. Credibility of a witness: In Vizconde case not credible, but credible in the Abadilla case. 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." 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. Pinoy murders: The worst true crimes in the Philippines There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said. He said that he heard Hubert Webb quarreling with another young looking customer. 132577 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, 1999, G.R. [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. . Your subscription could not be saved. Fax: +(852) 2698 6367, Copyright 2023 Asian Human Rights Commission. [3], The Inter-Agency Task Force assigned to reinvestigate Vizconde massacre case formed 6 teams or 3 parallel teams to look into 3 sets of suspects linked to the murders. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. Indeed, if the accused is truly innocent, he can have no other defense but denial and alibi. 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. Lauro Vizconde on Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the murders of his wife and two daughters at his residence in BF Homes, Paraaque City. [15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the tone for their conviction. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! (1993) - IMDb My program is the originalsumbungan ng bayan sa radyo(roughly, citizens complaint center on radio). 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. On April this year, the Webbs filed an urgent motion to acquit when they found out that the NBI no longer has custody of the specimen that was taken from the body of the rape victim, Carmela Visconde. After 15 years behind bars, Hubert Webb and 5 others in the Vizconde massacre case (Manila-Philippines) were released from prison on Tuesday. He also claimed to have heard Hubert shout, Putang ina nyo! For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. God would be stupid to borrow Digongs words if He gifts him the vice presidency the second time around. I found this As of yesterday, police had arrested and filed criminal charges against six fraternity members suspected to have beaten to death John Matthew Salilig in a twisted concept ofbrotherhood. In open court, he already said there were six, not four assailants; that it was two other gunmen, not one of the four present close to the car who pointed the gun at him; and he was not nervous but rather had the opportunity to see the faces of all the assailants facing him all at the same time. [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. No. Copyright 2023. Vizconde massacre case: Back to square one | ABS-CBN News No. No two persons have the same DNA fingerprint, with the exception of identical twins. Vizconde Massacre | FreebookSummary [18], In her decision, Tolentino described the testimony of defense witnesses as full of inconsistencies and biased. Like Herbas, court records had also shown that Alejo has been receiving money and free accommodation from the Abadillas. She said the same MRT provided data that several Webbs arrived in the country, including Hubert, sometime in October 1992. A second movie, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II, was released in 1994. Connections Followed by The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. Vizconde should go after the national government. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, Do not cheat him. The filming location took place in the actual home of the Vizconde's where the massacre took place on June 30, 1991. [23] On November 26, 2010, Lauro Vizconde voiced his concern to media about the purported lobbying of Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio for the reversal of the guilty verdict. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened, he said.
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