"[29], The court held that security guard Normal E. White, Jr.'s testimony was unreliable. Justo Cabanacan, the security supervisor of the gated community, said that he saw Webb enter the gated community, although he did not record Webb entering in his log book. . 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. 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. However, keep in mind not to be vindictive. 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. Alibi cannot prevail over the positive identification of a credible witness [140].. [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. Given the financial resources and political influence of his family, it was not unlikely that Webb could have traveled back to the Philippines before June 2930, 1991 and then departed for the US again, and returning to the Philippines in October 1992. 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. CONCLUSION: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by this unequal application of jurisprudence by the SC on the Abadilla murder and the Vizconde massacre. No. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. The people urging President Rodrigo Digong Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 elections are making fun of him. On April 28, 1995, National Bureau of Investigations asset and self-confessed drug user Jessica Alfaro came forward to police authorities to shed light on the killing of the Vizconde family. 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. 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. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. 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. So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. 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. You are just a few clicks away from making True Crime. October 1, 1996 Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paraaque RTC rejected 132 of the defense's 142 pieces of evidence. No two persons have the same DNA fingerprint, with the exception of identical twins. Besides the horror itself, the suspected perpetrators included high-society figures. She said the US-based defense witnesses, most of whom are relatives or friends of the Webb family suffered from "incorrigible and selective memory syndrome". 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. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. The most significant topic that Ive ever written about and which I personally got involved in was the Vizconde massacre. Police assets are often criminals themselves. The trial of the case having been long concluded, the requirements of the law may have been satisfied, but not the demands of justice. 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. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. Equal protection of the law is fundamental in the countrys Constitution. It would be a serious miscarriage of justice and a demonstration of inequality before the law should jurisprudence not be applied equally. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! [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. The DoJ also placed Alfaro under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) during the trial period. Welcome to my maiden column in TheSTAR, now the countrys No. [2] Two of the accused remain fugitives from the law: Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. June 30, 1991 for a bicycle he bought from a store in Orange County, Los Angeles, California. On June 30, 1991, Estrellita Vizconde and her two daughters: Carmela and Jennifer, were found lifeless inside their home in Paraaque. 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. I stood my ground because I had all the facts in my hand. And while justice seems elusive, life must go on, Vizcondes grandniece Katherine Asuncion said, reading from a family statement. This coincided with his passport and Philippine Immigration records but were dismissed by Tolentino due to belief that these documents can possibly be falsified. De Lima said the evidence that showed Webb and any of the co-accused were in the country came from the magnetic reel tape (MRT) of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) where all records of incoming and outgoing passengers from the Philippines are recorded. But her parents did not allow her to go. Defence of Alibi: In Vizconde case not admissible, in Abadilla case court acted on conjectures. September 7, 2010http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies. They were victims of gory murder; Carmela was raped before she was killed. [2][12] Security guards Justo Cabanacan and Normal White. While washing Hubert Webb's clothing, Gaviola said she noticed fresh bloodstains on his shirt. He also ordered the Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima to study the possibility of giving compensation to Webb and others. Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. 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. But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. 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. (P.S. InVizconde case: The SC applied two tests in rejecting the positive identification of Alfaro: firstly, the credibility of a witness; secondly, the testimony should be believable, not inherently contrived. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. vs. People of the Philippines et al., 1997, G.R. [10] According to the footage of the trial, Alfaro had been able to identify all the defendants by their names. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. Tel: +(852) 2698 6339 The 3 sets of suspects are: the Barroso Akyat-Bahay gang; the group of construction workers with engineer Danilo Agwas tagged as mastermind; SPO3 Angel Viaje, PO3 Rodolfo Colado, Ruben Pineda; and, the group of Hubert Webb. 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. [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. G/F, 52 Princess Margaret Road Since I was introduced to The STAR readers in the front page, Ill hit the ground running. I became a villain in the eyes of the citizenry that was crying for blood; but I was steadfast. By providing an email address. The jurisprudence mentioned above that the SC invoked has not been equally applied. [15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the tone for their conviction. ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. [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. But in the Abadilla case, the relatives and friends are not an impartial witness to corroborate the defence of alibi of the accused. In a 38-page strongly-worded decision promulgated on Tuesday, the . He then hurled the little girl to a wall and started stabbing her. 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". 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."
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