Shades of what happened in the 2004 elections, when a national official was paid a huge sum to run under a political party. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. Kaya laban lang tayo. Corona." [22], On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal. After the shooting, he could have easily and quickly transferred to Camp Crame between 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning. 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. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. This policewoman is either ignorant of the law or plain lazy. The court rejected his testimony because he was a disgruntled witness. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. 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. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. 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. 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. 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. 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. It cautioned itself from accepting the testimonies of witnesses without applying these tests. Alfaro testified that as Webb followed Carmela into the dining room, she decided to step outside for a smoke. [2] Two of the accused remain fugitives from the law: Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. Similar to the Vizconde case, the five accused made a defence of alibi claiming that they were somewhere else on June 13, 1996 when the murder of Abadilla happened. Once again, the SCs applications of jurisprudence on the admissibility of forensic evidence in criminal trial have not been equally applied. Cabanacan said Webb had entered the subdivision (where the Vizconde house was located) a few days before the massacre and that he even identified himself as the son of then Congressman Webb. Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito. (Fuck you all! Abadilla Case Decision from the Court of Appeals:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. LYN RILLON. [8] If, on examination, the DNA of the subject specimen does not belong to Webb, then he did not rape Carmela. 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". My program is the originalsumbungan ng bayan sa radyo(roughly, citizens complaint center on radio). 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Asuncion, 27, was a constant playmate of Jennifer Vizconde, who was 7 years old when she was killed. They are Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and Joel de Jesus. De Lima also said seven new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country during the months of April, May and June 1991. G/F, 52 Princess Margaret Road 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. 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. The filming location took place in the actual home of the Vizconde's where the massacre took place on June 30, 1991. The women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. Jennifer Diaz, chief of the women and childrens desk, told Allan to file the complaint with the barangay where they reside. I was a barbarian in my college years at the University of the Philippines. The SC, however, upheld the RTC and the CAs judgement that the defence of alibi of the accused is a weak defense, (and that) for it to prosper, the accused must prove not only that he was at some other place at the time of the commission of the crime, but also, that it was physically impossible for him to be or within its immediate vicinity. No. Former NBI official Pedro Rivera however dismissed as lies the testimony of Sacaguing saying that Agent Sacaguing had a record of notoriety in the NBI which prompted his transfer to remote places of assignment until his early retirement. 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. It took the trial and appeal process in this case fifteen years. 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 DoJ also placed Alfaro under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) during the trial period. 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. 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. [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]. A local elected official whos being groomed to run for a national office is being sold to the highest bidder by the politicians spouse. This was a case that was solved nine years after the murders and then unsolved 10 years later. Pitong, an electrician who since 1982, already knew the Webb family claimed he saw a laundry woman wash a bloodied T-shirt on the morning of the crime. Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. The RTC, however, acquitted Delos Santos despite being positively identified also by Alejo as one of those who was present at the crime scene. About the Show; You May Also Like . Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. Herbas had testified for the defence instead of the prosecution when the Abadilla did not fulfil his promise to give him (Herbas) exactly the same salary he was receiving and when he was told that he would no longer be presented as witness because the testimony of Alejo would be sufficient. Suspicions, no matter how strong they are, must never sway judgment. TV-14. Pray to them. [18], In her decision, Tolentino described the testimony of defense witnesses as full of inconsistencies and biased. Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. She did not show up at the NBI as a spontaneous witness (only after four years) bothered by her conscience. Vizconde massacre. Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. 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." [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. But the grieving father couldn't distinguish the truth from the lies. Evid. When the accused appealed the decision, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the judgement of conviction by the RTC. 176864 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et. Six months is not enough for him to clean up the Aegean stable that is the PNP. People vs. Bello, G.R. This coincided with his passport and Philippine Immigration records but were dismissed by Tolentino due to belief that these documents can possibly be falsified. 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". In the said stockroom, there is a small door going to Hubert's room and in that door there is a small opening where she used to see Hubert and his friends sniffing on something. After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. Welcome to my maiden column in TheSTAR, now the countrys No. 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. Cruz, Manila accompanying his brother-in-law, Jonas Padel Ayhon, whose wife had just given birth; and Rameses de Jesus and Lenido Lumanog had just left Manila for Mabalacat, Pampanga where they stayed until the evening of June 14. For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. . Connections Followed by The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! [9] They were acquitted by a trial judge in September 1993 for insufficient evidence.[9]. [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". A lying witness can make as positive an identification as a truthful witness can. Forensic evidence: In Vizconde case it cannot lie, in Abadilla case it is inconclusive. September 7, 2010http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm (P.S. Like Herbas, court records had also shown that Alejo has been receiving money and free accommodation from the Abadillas. . On the contrary, it reopens it. Webb was the prime suspect of the infamous homicide that occurred on June 30, 1991.