[9] They were acquitted by a trial judge in September 1993 for insufficient evidence.[9]. 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. Rodolfo Sison, the police investigator originally assigned to the case in 1991. It is that simple. Kaya laban lang tayo. 182555/G.R. No. May I invite you to watch?). Sulu in the eyes of my good friend Princess Jacel Kiram is a potential eco-tourism destination and fruit basket of the country. On August 11, 1999, the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City acquitted two of them and convicted the five others, now collectively known as the Abadilla Five. Ho Man Tin, Kowloon She added that suspect Miguel Rodriguez warned her to "shut up or you're gonna get killed" in the same disco on April 8, 1995, prompting her to voluntarily submit herself to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for protection. Let the love of God prevail. Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. The court rejected his testimony because he was a disgruntled witness. Yes, but what can I do (?). TV-14. 3. It would be a serious miscarriage of justice and a demonstration of inequality before the law should jurisprudence not be applied equally. 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. 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. All of these had been applied in acquitting the accused in the Vizconde case, which is contradictory to its earlier decision affirming the conviction of the Abadilla Five. 176864. 16:53. The Vizconde Massacre was the multiple homicide of members of the Vizconde family on June 30, 1991 at their residence in BF Homes, Paraaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. 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. Nos. [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. I got my style of writing when I was a reporter, news writer and newsreader on radio during the pre-martial law era, and as a deskman and feature writer of the Philippines News Agency (PNA). He and six others spent 15 years in jail. I told my family that I did my best. [61], The findings also point to another set of suspects, namely Dong Villadolid and his brother Bing. (1994) Details Release date June 24, 1993 (Philippines) Country of origin Philippines Languages English Filipino Tagalog Filming locations 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. Choose Gods endless kind of love., Hernandez also reminded Vizconde that he now had three saints in Heaven.. Both Webb and del Toro could not describe in court what Hubert's work was, Tolentino said. InAbadilla case: The SC affirmed the CAs judgement as inconclusive the use of forensic evidence, for example, the fingerprints and ballistic test results, showing that none of the five accused had their fingerprints match to those extracted from the murder victims car. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. 2. 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. Birrer said she had accompanied Biong to the Vizconde house to destroy the evidence and to retrieve Webb's jacket and the murder weapon. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. [10] According to the footage of the trial, Alfaro had been able to identify all the defendants by their names. ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. SC slams 'unbelievable' testimony of Vizconde massacre witness 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 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. 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". She also said that Bing was accosting Ging Rodriguez on why he had to stab and kill a young girl. 124871, May 13, 2004. Fax: +(852) 2698 6367, Copyright 2023 Asian Human Rights Commission. This is despite questions to his credibility for receiving money and enjoying privileges while he was in Abadillas custody and the existence of inconsistencies in his testimonies in open court. But in the Abadilla case, not only did the SC affird the CAs ruling in rejecting the defence of alibi, it did not also question the CAs formulation of conjectures on which it based its judgement. Many of the stories in my columns in previous newspapers were complaints from citizens. Vizconde massacre timeline | Philstar.com I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. Indeed, the testimony of a single witness, when positive and credible, is sufficient to support a conviction even for murder. Jennifer woke up and, seeing Webb violating her sister, jumped on him and bit him. The SCs decision affirming the guilty verdict by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City on the Abadilla Five, the five men accused in the murder of police colonel Rolando Abadilla on June 13, 1996, is already the subject of a final appeal filed on October 8, 2010. 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. InAbadilla case: Both the RTC and the CA did not apply this test of credibility of a witness before accepting the testimony of Alejo. [51] On March 18, Hubert Webb filed a lawsuit against Jessica Alfaro for false testimony at the Paraaque Prosecutor's Office. G.R. 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. [139] Against positive evidence, alibi becomes most unsatisfactory. Nephews had posted a banner declaring "Truth prevails 20 years after" and demanding "Final justice for the Vizconde massacre victims," in apparent reference to government probers' claims . Their claims were corroborated by witnesses who are disinterested parties, their relatives and friends and documentary evidence. Vizconde Massacre Case - Pinoy Stories Six months is not enough for him to clean up the Aegean stable that is the PNP. The Vizconde massacre, dubbed the crime of the 20th century, was my defining moment as a columnist and defender of the oppressed and those. The NBI is the agency responsible in providing security and protection of witnesses admitted under WPP. 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. From there she allegedly saw Lejano and Ventura take a knife from the kitchen drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. After 15 years behind bars, Hubert Webb and 5 others in the Vizconde massacre case (Manila-Philippines) were released from prison on Tuesday. Don't miss out on the latest news and information. The SC did not apply the two tests it invoked on the Vizconde case before accepting the positive identification of Alejo as credible, and him as a credible witness. 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." 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. Police assets are often criminals themselves. 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. The SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. 5. 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. al, 1995, G.R. 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. I became a villain in the eyes of the citizenry that was crying for blood; but I was steadfast. The people urging President Rodrigo Digong Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 elections are making fun of him. a contribution to Human Rights work, Asian Human Rights Commission God would be stupid to borrow Digongs words if He gifts him the vice presidency the second time around. Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. [18], In her decision, Tolentino described the testimony of defense witnesses as full of inconsistencies and biased. Vizconde marks 20th year of murders: Time to move on Alfaro said that when she went back to the house, she saw the bodies of Estrellita and Jennifer on the bed and Webb raping Carmela on the floor. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! - IMDb They are Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and Joel de Jesus. 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. September 7, 2010http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. 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. 187745. 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. [29], For the alibi to be established "the accused must prove by positive, clear, and satisfactory evidence that he was present at another place at the time of the perpetration of the crime, and that it was physically impossible for him to be at the scene of the crime". Who does forget the heart-crushing 1991 Visconde massacre, with Jessica Alfaro standing as the star witness, whistle-blowing the details how these young men before, coming from our society's influential families, killed Mang Lauro's wife and his two daughters. The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption(VACC) asked Justice Antonio Carpio and his cousin Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales to take a leave while the case is being decided to avoid undue influence on the court's decision. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes. 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". Your subscription could not be saved. TRUTH OUT, HEALING BEGINS. 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). [8] If, on examination, the DNA of the subject specimen does not belong to Webb, then he did not rape Carmela. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. 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Therefore, the SCs rejection of Villamaras opinion demonstrates a fundamental contradiction to its September 7 decision on the Abadilla case. [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. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories | Martin Rules. Indeed, her superior testified that she volunteered to play the role of a witness in the Vizconde killings when she could not produce a man she promised to the NBI. Webb was the prime suspect of the infamous homicide that occurred on June 30, 1991. 'Ms. 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 . Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito. (Fuck you all! [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. But big offenses, such as rape or attempted rape, should be filed with the police or the prosecutors office. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the contradiction in the application of jurisprudence by the SC in these cases, particularly its ruling on positive identification, the credibility of witness and its appreciation of forensic evidence. 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. The Vizconde massacre: Justice not served - BusinessMirror True Crime. [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". Appendix: Case analysis: Supreme Court's rulings on Vizconde and By providing an email address. White was mistaken in saying that Gatchalian and company went in and out of the gated community many times, since they only entered once. I will kill you, brandishing a shiny revolver. 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. Both the SC and the CA affirmed the RTCs sentence of guilty verdict without applying the test on the credibility of a witness as they did in Vizconde case. Abadilla Case Petition for Review on Certiorario:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-FinalAppealPetition.pdf So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. 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. Seven justices based its decision on the following points: Webb, citing Brady v. Maryland, said "that he is entitled to outright acquittal on the ground of violation of his right to due process given the States failure to produce on order of the Court either by negligence or willful suppression the semen specimen taken from Carmela." But, unlike the house robbers, however the court points out that "Webb and his friends did not have anything to do in a darkened garage. Visconde Masscre - Weebly [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. 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. The filming location took place in the actual home of the Vizconde's where the massacre took place on June 30, 1991. The court also said the same for the issue of the garage light: she claimed that Ventura climbed the car's hood, using a chair, to turn the light off. 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. But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. [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. I expected this decision because since the start, I knew that Jessica Alfaro was not entirely telling the truth. [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. 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. Hubert and his co-accused were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court for the crime on June 6, 2000. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories - Anchor (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Vizconde said he was optimistic about finding more witnesses.. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! - sirasa.dixiesewing.com Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. The Vizconde Massacre | Shows | discovery+ December 14, 2010:http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm 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. Vizconde said his quest for justice was continuing despite the end of the prescription period for the prosecution of his familys killers. No. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. 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. 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. Sign up now! 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. 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 . This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. [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. Footnote: This article comprises the text of a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission, AHRC-STM-266-2010, dated 21 December 2010. Nephews had posted a banner declaring Truth prevails 20 years after and demanding Final justice for the Vizconde massacre victims, in apparent reference to government probers claims that, contrary to his alibi, released murder convict Hubert Webb never left the country. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. Tolentino also found it hard to believe that Webb was working with a pesticide company because he was asthmatic and allergic to various substances. [2] Tolentino said the certificates issued by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration "could have easily been obtained by the powerful Webb family". The High Court put to question the quality of the testamentary evidence furnished by the witnesses.

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