On June 30, 1991, Estrellita Vizconde and her two daughters: Carmela and Jennifer, were found lifeless inside their home in Paraaque. Both Webb and del Toro could not describe in court what Hubert's work was, Tolentino said. InVizconde case: The SC has given weight to the importance of forensic evidence in a court trial. It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. MANILA, Philippines - A former policeman who was jailed for allegedly tampering with evidence in the 1991 Vizconde massacre insists he is innocent of any crime after being released from prison Tuesday. She took advantage of her familiarity with these details to include in her testimony. 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. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. In rejecting the defence of the accused, the SC also affirmed the conjecture the CA had put forward as to the possibility that the accused could have been present or somewhere at the vicinity where the crime took place, as mentioned below: On Joel de Jesus, it was not impossible for him to have gone also Katipunan Avenue (from Quezon City where he was driving), which is also part of Quezon City, not to mention the fact that with his tricycle, he could have easily moved from one place to another; On Rameses de Jesus and Lenido Lumanog, their claims lack credence as they are unsupported by the testimonies of independent witnesses. The case remained unsolved for almost four years until eyewitness, Jessica Alfaro Testified that Hubert Webb is the lead suspect and responsible of the crime committed. 127262 Hubert Webb, et al. 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. I will continue to play that role as long as I live. Vizconde is clinging to the hope that even if this period ended Thursday, more concerned citizens will approach the National Bureau of Investigation to corroborate claims made by new witnesses that Webb was seen in BF Homes, Paraaque City, at the time of the murders. [60], Although Webb's group can no longer be retried because of double jeopardy, De Lima said the purpose of the reinvestigation was to uncover the truth and bring closure to Lauro Vizconde.[65][66]. 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. [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. Visconde Masscre - Weebly The Vizconde massacre made headlines in the Philippines in the '90s and started a trend in filmmaking. Hubert and his co-accused were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court for the crime on June 6, 2000. 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. This site uses cookies. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. 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. LIKE me to support Mr. Vizconde 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. No. Let the love of God prevail. She did not show up at the NBI as a spontaneous witness (only after four years) bothered by her conscience. Biong walks free, insists he's innocent | ABS-CBN News [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. Webbs co-accused, Antonio Lejano, is a son of a known singer and celebrity. 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". We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. All rights are reserved. 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[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 also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. 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). God would be stupid to borrow Digongs words if He gifts him the vice presidency the second time around. The 47-year-old Estrellita had 13 stab wounds. :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. 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. [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. 121234 Hubert Webb et al. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. 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. 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. [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. December 14, 2010:http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm The lower courts, however, reasoned that "Webb's alibi cannot stand against Alfaro's positive identification of him." 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. No. 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. The other defendants were Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. They were victims of gory murder; Carmela was raped before she was killed. 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. Credibility of a witness: In Vizconde case not credible, but credible in the Abadilla case. [55], On June 28, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Hubert Webb was in the Philippines when the murders took place. 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. LYN RILLON. The prosecution did not present him as their witness during the trial. For those who havent heard aboutIsumbong, the public service program started at Radyo Veritas on June 1, 1991. Abadilla Case Petition for Review on Certiorario:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-FinalAppealPetition.pdf 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. No. Theyre projecting Digong as a feeble old man still seeking power. Allan (surname intentionally omitted), stepfather of a 16-year-old girl who was nearly raped by a neighbor, went with his daughter to the police station in San Jose, Batangas recently to file a complaint. 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. Similar to the accused in the Vizconde case, all the accused in the Abadilla case invoked their defence of alibi. [2][20], The court ruled that the Paraaque RTC was correct in sentencing Webb et al. 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 DoJ also placed Alfaro under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) during the trial period. The unconstitutionality of prior restraint. 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). It is said that being elected president is a gift from God. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? Alejo confirmed these two (2) as the persons he saw from his guard post walking to and fro before the shooting incident. Carpio testified for the defense during the trial. One of the justices, Roberto Abad, who dissented the majority decision affirming the guilty verdict wrote: the public prosecutor chose instead to allow the Abadillas, who had an interest in Alejos testimony, to make him dependent on them for his livelihood at least for the duration of the trial of the case. Vizconde massacre timeline | Philstar.com Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! (1993) - IMDb [9] They were acquitted by a trial judge in September 1993 for insufficient evidence.[9]. Di naman ako puwede magtrabaho don (If that's the case, then I should have had a salary. The Vizconde massacre: Justice not served - BusinessMirror Rodolfo Sison, the police investigator originally assigned to the case in 1991. [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". There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said.

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