They are Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and Joel de Jesus. [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. 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. No two persons have the same DNA fingerprint, with the exception of identical twins. [60] Mario, a hair stylist during the period June 1991, testified that Webb, along with Tony Boy Lejano and Dong Ventura had their haircut. De Lima also said seven new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country during the months of April, May and June 1991. To find out more, please click this link. The case was featured on a Philippine TV show Case Unclosed as its ninth episode, "Vizconde Massacre Case. They cannot be the bases of conviction as they cannot substitute for the constitutional requirement of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. 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. 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. He alleged that Webb bought illegal drugs from him on two other occasions in May 1991. She had been hanging around that agency for sometime as a stool pigeon, one paid for mixing up with criminals and squealing on them. Forensic evidence: In Vizconde case it cannot lie, in Abadilla case it is inconclusive. Lejano and Ventura also took turns raping Carmela, before finishing her off with numerous stabs. [65] One team uncovered Black Maria, a woman whom one witness said had told him she was with Webb's group inside the Vizconde home and saw the crime take place. [56][62][63][64] Dang claimed to have heard Dong Villadolid shouting at the top of his voice, saying they had raped and killed a certain Maria (presumed to be Maria Carmela Vizconde) and other persons. 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. [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]. 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. As already mentioned, the SC concluded Alfaro to be not a credible witness because she did not meet these two criteria. 185123/G.R. Let the love of God prevail. [4] In the Trial Court (People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et al., G.R. While washing Hubert Webb's clothing, Gaviola said she noticed fresh bloodstains on his shirt. It is that simple. The massacre and surrounding events were depicted in the 1993 film The Vizconde Massacre Story (God Help Us!) She also said that Bing was accosting Ging Rodriguez on why he had to stab and kill a young girl. In a 38-page strongly-worded decision promulgated on Tuesday, the . The Vizconde massacre made headlines in the Philippines in the '90s and started a trend in filmmaking. No. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. June 30, 1991 for a bicycle he bought from a store in Orange County, Los Angeles, California. 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. Includes gruesome real photos from the crime scene. In rejecting questions to Alejos credibility, the SC affirmed the CAs ruling that the credible testimony of a lone witness(es) assumes more weight when there is no showing that he was actuated by improper motive to testify falsely against the accused, as in the case of Freddie Alejo. Episode on July 5, 2011 Tuesday after Saksi! Alejo had been under the Abadillas custody and protection instead of that of the WPP of the government. She did not show up at the NBI as a spontaneous witness (only after four years) bothered by her conscience. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. But her parents did not allow her to go. 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. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Vizconde said he was optimistic about finding more witnesses.. 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. October 1, 1996 Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paraaque RTC rejected 132 of the defense's 142 pieces of evidence. al., 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vizconde_murders&oldid=1138122178, Loss of DNA evidence not a ground for outright acquittal. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes. About the Show; You May Also Like . ", The victims of the massacre (from left to right): Jennifer, Carmela, and Estrellita Vizconde, "The Vizconde massacre: Justice not served", "Lauro Vizconde to be buried in same grave with family Wednesday", "Manila Standard Google News Archive Search", "The Manila Times Internet Edition SPECIAL REPORT > Questions linger in Vizconde case", The Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 31, 2010, "Philippine Daily Inquirer Google News Archive Search", "NBI exec: We've turned over semen specimen from Vizconde girl to court", "2 SC justices asked to go on leave pending Vizconde decision", "SC sues for time, defers ruling on Vizconde case", Philippine Daily Inquirer, SC Acquits Webb et al, "Supreme Court decision on Webb et al re Vizconde Massacre", Lauro Vizconde in tears, Webbs on 'cloud nine', Gary, Kris speak up on Hubert's acquittal, Outrage over decision, sympathy for Vizconde, Ruling raises more questions, lawyers point out, Vizconde kin question why Webb was released so quickly, Alfaro unwilling to testifying anew in Vizconde case Jessica Alfaro stands by story, Criminal law experts umalma sa pag-absuwelto ng SC kay Webb, Ex-VP Guingona to SC: Reverse Webb's acquittal to give justice to Vizconde, "Another 'Joey Filart' still under detention", "New Vizconde massacre witnesses surface", New witnesses to prove Webb in PH during Vizconde massacre, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Hubert Webb seeks P180K compensation for 'unlawful' conviction, NBI, PNP teams probe 3 sets of Vizconde slay suspects, Vizconde massacre has new set of witnesses, Evidence, witnesses 'shatter' Webb alibi: task force, DoJ chief: No credible proof of Webb in crime scene, De Lima hints at explosive breakthrough in Vizconde probe. She admitted to knowing Webb and company but denied knowledge of the Vizconde massacre, NBI Death Investigation Division head Romulo Asis said. 187745. Tel: +(852) 2698 6339 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. 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. [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. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. (1994) Details Release date June 24, 1993 (Philippines) Country of origin Philippines Languages English Filipino Tagalog Filming locations The unconstitutionality of prior restraint. Theyre projecting Digong as a feeble old man still seeking power. Justice Villarama argued that a photocopy of Webbs passport in court to support his alibi and the testimonies of witnesses, mostly his relatives and friends, could not be given merit, by cautioning his fellow justices that it can be gleaned from the fact that passports and plane tickets indicating dates of arrival and departure do not necessarily prove that the very same person actually took the flight and added that indeed, alibi cannot be sustained where it is not only without credible corroboration, but also where it does not, on its face, demonstrate the physical impossibility of the accuseds presence at the place and time of the commission of the crime. "[21], In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA testing to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during autopsy from Carmela Vizconde. 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. De Lima said they could still go after Filart and Ventura, as well as the Villadolid brothers, since the prescriptive period of 20 years for homicide does not apply to them because they were abroad. 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. G.R. They were victims of gory murder; Carmela was raped before she was killed. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. For example, the prosecutor, instead of admitting Alejo to the WPP during trial, rather 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. Welcome to my maiden column in TheSTAR, now the countrys No. Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. After 15 years behind bars, Hubert Webb and 5 others in the Vizconde massacre case (Manila-Philippines) were released from prison on Tuesday. She was the prosecutions worst possible choice for a witness. 132577 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, 1999, G.R. [6], Alfaro's testimony coincided with the angle that was being explored by Supt. But Villaramas opinion was not considered by the SC in their majority decision. Massacre case in 1991 Webb was accused of raping Carmela Vizconde, 18, who was killed in her family's Paraaque home on June 30, 1991. The trial began in August 1995 before Paraaque RTC Judge Amelita Tolentino. [48] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Philippines at the time of the murders. June 14, 1993 - Vizconde Massacre solved; 'brains,' three others fall Police finish investigation of the Vizconde case with the arrest of the suspected mastermind and three other suspects,. Philstar Global Corp. All Rights Reserved. 176864 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et. Based on my findings, I defended Hubert in my column and in my radio and TV programs. 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. April 28, 1995 Jessica Alfaro presents herself as a witness and accuses Hubert Webb. Call 896 6000. 1. 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. 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. [15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the tone for their conviction. For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. The SCs decision in acquitting all the accused in the Vizconde case has fundamental contradictions to its earlier decision affirming the guilty verdict of the accused in the Abadilla case. When the accused appealed the decision, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the judgement of conviction by the RTC. VIZCONDE MASSACRE: 20 YEARS, TWO FACES OF JUSTICE Report by Maki Pulido It is one of the most controversial cases in the country's history, the most shocking crime in the 90s - the Vizconde Massacre. The San Jose police station eventually received and filed the complaint with the prosecutors office in Batangas City, only after my staff at Isumbong mo kay Tulfo told them Diazs arrogance would reach Camp Crame. TRUTH OUT, HEALING BEGINS. White was mistaken in saying that Gatchalian and company went in and out of the gated community many times, since they only entered once.
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