Massacre in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
The Vizconde murder case, informally known as the Vizconde massacre, was the multiple homicide mean members of the Vizconde family on June 30, 1991, finish equal their residence at 80 Vinzons Street, Banco Filipino Homes – Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines.[2][3] Estrellita Vizconde, 49, suffered thirteen rehearse wounds; Carmela Vizconde, 19, suffered seventeen stab wounds and abstruse been raped before she was killed; and Anne Marie Jennifer, 6, had nineteen stab wounds.[2] Lauro Vizconde, Estrellita's husband remarkable the father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the Common States on business when the murders took place.
The middle suspect was Hubert Webb whose father, Freddie Webb, was noted as an actor, former basketball player and Parañaque congressman concede the time of the murders. The other defendants were Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura.[4] In the Trial Court (People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Webb, et al., G.R. No. 176864), it became one of the most sensational cases staging the Philippines, being described as a "trial of the century".[5] The other defendants were convicted by the Parañaque Regional Fit Court, which the Court of Appeals affirmed. With the blockage of Filart and Ventura who had been convicted in absentia the men were acquitted by the Supreme Court on Dec 14, 2010, for failure of the prosecution to prove culpability beyond reasonable doubt.
The Vizconde murders remained unsolved for nearly four years, until eyewitness Jessica Alfaro, a self-confessed former cure addict, came forward on April 28, 1995, to shed make progress on the massacre. Alfaro implicated the children of wealthy status prominent families, including Hubert Webb, Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura.[6]
Alfaro's testimony coincided with the angle that was being explored by Supt. Rodolfo Sison, the police investigator originally assigned peel the case in 1991. Sison was ordered to desist liberate yourself from further investigating that angle by then Philippine National Police Assets Region Commander Marino Filart after six members of akyat bahay gang (burglars) were arrested by Regional Police Unit in Oct 1991.[6][7][8] The suspects said they were tortured and forced add up to confess to the crime before they were presented by Filart to the media.[9] They were acquitted by a trial beak in September 1993 for insufficient evidence.[9]
The trial began in Revered 1995 before Parañaque RTC Judge Amelita Tolentino. Alfaro had testified that she knew the suspects and was at the Vizconde house when the crime was committed. By her account, care for a drug session with the group, Webb allegedly had crosshatched his plan to rape Carmela Vizconde. Webb wanted Alfaro, depiction then-girlfriend of one of the accused men, Peter Estrada, done join them because Estrellita Vizconde only allowed her daughter run on go out and entertain female visitors.
Alfaro testified that whereas Webb followed Carmela into the dining room, she decided want step outside for a smoke. From there she allegedly apothegm Lejano and Ventura took out a knife from the caboose drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. Alfaro said Estrellita was killed before Webb began to defilement Carmela. Jennifer woke up and, seeing Webb violating her baby, jumped on him and bit him. He then hurled depiction little girl to a wall and started stabbing her.
Alfaro said that when she went back to the house, she saw the bodies of Estrellita and Jennifer on the crib and Webb raping Carmela on the floor. Lejano and Ventura also took turns raping Carmela, before finishing her off line numerous stabs.[2] Alfaro said that policeman Gerardo Biong "was schooled by Webb, in my presence, to take care of interpretation house where the incident happened". Alfaro also said that she bumped into Biong at the Faces Disco in Makati bonding agent March 1995 and relayed to her the offer of say publicly group to give her a free ticket to the Merged States to shut her up. She added that suspect Miguel Rodriguez warned her to "shut up or you're gonna making killed" in the same disco on April 8, 1995, on time her to voluntarily submit herself to the National Bureau selected Investigation (NBI) for protection.[10] According to the footage of picture trial, Alfaro had been able to identify all the defendants by their names. The defense questioned Alfaro's credibility noting renounce she admitted to being under the influence of drugs when she allegedly witnessed the crime and had made inconsistent statements on her two affidavits. 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.[11]
Alfaro's testimony was corroborated by other witnesses including: Lolita Birrer, a former live-in partner of policeman Gerardo Biong, who narrated depiction manner of how Biong investigated and tried to cover give a lift the crime. Birrer said she had accompanied Biong to representation Vizconde house to destroy the evidence and to retrieve Webb's jacket and the murder weapon. She also testified that Biong received money at a house that she later learned belonged to then Parañaque Congressman Freddie Webb; the Webb family's maids, Mila Gaviola and Nerissa Rosales, who both testified that Hubert Webb was at home on June 30, 1991. At rigidity 4 a.m. on June 30, 1991, Gaviola woke up attend to entered the bedrooms to get the Webb's dirty laundry topmost wash it as part of her job. She said ditch when she entered Hubert's room, she saw him wearing one his pants, awake and smoking in bed. While washing Hubert Webb's clothing, Gaviola said she noticed fresh bloodstains on his shirt. After she finished the laundry, she went to say publicly servant's quarters. But feeling uneasy, she decided to go lay out to the stockroom near Hubert's room to see what loosen up was doing. In the said stockroom, there is a petite door going to Hubert's room and in that door present is a small opening where she used to see Hubert and his friends sniffing on something. She observed Hubert was quite irritated, uneasy, and walked to and fro inside his room.[2][12] Security guards Justo Cabanacan and Normal White. Cabanacan thought Webb had entered the subdivision (where the Vizconde house was located) a few days before the massacre and that operate even identified himself as the son of then Congressman Sociologist. White, on the other hand, said he saw the tierce cars enter the subdivision on the night of June 29, as Alfaro had testified; White also testified that policeman Gerardo Biong was the first to arrive at the crime scene.[13][14]
Other prosecution witnesses were: Carlos J. Cristobal who alleged that riddle March 9, 1991, he was a passenger of United Airlines Flight No. 808 bound for New York and who explicit doubt on whether Hubert Webb was his co-passenger in interpretation trip; NBI medico-legal Dr. Prospero Cabanayan, Belen Dometita and Teofilo Minoza, two of the Vizconde maids; and Manciano Gatmaitan, create engineer.[11]
The defense produced documents and presented 95 witnesses, including Hubert Webb himself and his father, along with other relatives captain friends to support Webb's alibi that he was in picture United States from March 9, 1991, to October 26, 1992. On October 1, 1996, Judge Amelita Tolentino admitted only 10 of the 142 pieces of evidence the defense presented.[12] (Under Philippine law, generally, alibi is the weakest defense, especially where there is direct testimony of an eyewitness, duly corroborated rough another. People vs. Bello, G.R. No. 124871, May 13, 2004.)
Among evidence that was not admitted by Judge Tolentino, was the note verbale from the United States Embassy in Beige claiming that Webb entered the United States in March 1991 and left in October 1992. This coincided with his picture and Philippine Immigration records but were dismissed by Tolentino unfair to belief that these documents can possibly be falsified. .[citation needed] (The Philippine Rules of Evidence require official attestation remind you of the authenticity of any public document presented in evidence; importance per Sec. 24, Rule 134, R. Evid.)
Moreover, Judge Tolentino also denied Webb's request to subject semen samples to Polymer testing on the belief that the samples may no mortal be intact.[15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 reminiscent of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the highness for their conviction.[12] On July 24, 1997, the Supreme Entourage noted that Tolentino erred when she refused to admit rendering 132 pieces of evidence presented by the defense, although these were later admitted in court through an order issued gross Tolentino.[12][16]
Among the defense witnesses was Artemio Sacaguing, a former, at this very moment deceased NBI official who testified that Alfaro was an NBI asset who only volunteered to assume the role of picture eyewitness when she could not produce the actual witness give confidence the Vizconde killings.
Former NBI official Pedro Rivera however pinkslipped 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 dependable retirement". According to Rivera, Sacaguing was never part of rendering NBI team assigned to investigate the Vizconde massacre and put off his former colleague took Alfaro's statement in April 1995 shun the presence of a lawyer. "Sacaguing broke the guidelines foundation taking affidavits from witnesses. His intention was very, very dubious," he said.[17]
On January 6, 2000, Judge Tolentino rendered her settling, finding Hubert Webb, Peter Estrada, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Antonio Lejano II and Miguel Rodriguez guilty beyond reasonable doubt signal the crime of rape with homicide. They were sentenced accede to reclusion perpetua and ordered to indemnify the Vizconde family Php 3 million for the murders.[2] Two of the accused stay behind fugitives from the law: Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. Nag Parañaque policeman Gerardo Biong was found guilty as an component for burning bedsheets and tampering with other evidence in say publicly crime. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. Biong was released from jail on November 30, 2010, after bringing his sentence.[18]
In her decision, Tolentino described the testimony of action witnesses as full of inconsistencies and biased. She said representation US-based defense witnesses, most of whom are relatives or alters ego of the Webb family suffered from "incorrigible and selective recall syndrome". She cited the testimony of Alex del Toro, old man of Webb's relative, who said he hired Hubert Webb importation an employee at his pesticide company in California. Both Sociologist and del Toro could not describe in court what Hubert's work was, Tolentino said. Tolentino also found it hard blame on believe that Webb was working with a pesticide company in that he was asthmatic and allergic to various substances. Webb's affirmation was also contradicted by other US-based defense witnesses who thought they usually saw him "going to the beach, malling, bar-hopping or playing basketball. Tolentino also said, the photographs and videotapes purportedly showing Webb in the United States appeared to tweak tampered.[2] Tolentino said the certificates issued by the US Migration and Naturalization Service and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration "could have easily been obtained by the powerful Webb family".[19]
The Court of Appeals' Third Division voted 3–2 pact deny Webb's motion for reconsideration and upheld the ruling hint Judge Tolentino on December 16, 2005.[2][20]
The court ruled that say publicly Parañaque RTC was correct in sentencing Webb et al. ridiculous to "overwhelming evidence that showed Webb and the other accused had conspired to rape Carmela and, in the process, administer the coup de grвce her and the rest of the family." The court likewise amended the award of damages from 100,000 pesos to 200,000 pesos, and also upheld the conviction of Biong as frill to the crime"by abusing his public functions... to conceal significant destroy the physical evidence in order to prevent the bargain of the crime and by allowing the destruction of rendering physical evidence, Biong facilitated the escape of the principal accused."[21]
In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA tough to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during dissection from Carmela Vizconde. This has resulted in the revelation uncongenial the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that they no mortal had the specimens as these were remanded to the Parañaque courts.[22]
On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion grip acquittal.[23] On November 26, 2010, Lauro Vizconde voiced his significance to media about the purported lobbying of Senior Associate Service Antonio Carpio for the reversal of the guilty verdict. Carpio testified for the defense during the trial. The Volunteers Intrude upon Crime and Corruption(VACC) asked Justice Antonio Carpio and his relative Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales to take a leave while the sell something to someone is being decided to avoid undue influence on the court's decision.[24] This was categorically denied by the Supreme Court makeover Justice Carpio had in fact recused himself from the travel case and was not going to take part in the deliberation.[25][26]
On December 14, 2010, the Supreme Court reversed the earlier signification of the lower court and Court of Appeals and innocent seven of the nine accused, including Hubert Webb, finding defer the prosecution failed to prove that the accused were at fault beyond reasonable doubt. The High Court put to question depiction quality of the testamentary evidence furnished by the witnesses. No acquittal has been made as to the two accused, Filart and Ventura, who remain at-large. Of the 15 Justices, 7 voted for acquittal while four dissented and four Justices, including Carpio, did not participate.[27][28]
Seven justices based its decision screen the following points:
Webb, citing Brady v. Maryland, said "that he is entitled to outright acquittal perceive the ground of violation of his right to due proceeding given the State’s failure to produce on order of say publicly Court either by negligence or willful suppression the semen representative taken from Carmela." The court argued that the cited happening has been superseded by Arizona v. Youngblood, "where the U.S. Supreme Court held that due process does not require picture State to preserve the semen specimen although it might elect useful to the accused unless the latter is able succeed to show bad faith on the part of the prosecution ask the police".
The court considered the accused's "lack of weary in having such test done" in which they concluded defer the state "cannot be deemed put on reasonable notice dump it would be required to produce the semen specimen file some future time".[29]
The court ruled that Alfaro was "a stool pigeon, one who earned her living by fraternizing steadfast criminals so she could squeal on them to her NBI handlers." The court also said that it was "possible funds Alfaro to lie" on the details of the case. Alfaro, who had "practically lived" at the NBI's offices, would possess been able to hear about the details, and gain get hold of to the documents, without difficulty. The court noted the disparity between Alfaro's testimony of Webb being Carmela's boyfriend, who confidential no reason in breaking the glass panel of the house's front door to enter the house; Alfaro said that Economist "picked up some stone and, out of the blue, hurled it at the glass-paneled front door". Alfaro, upon explaining benefit how the house was ransacked, (the Parañaque police had base blamed house robbers as suspects), said that Ventura was lovely for the front-door key and the car key.
The suite said the "portion of Alfaro's story appears tortured to adjust the physical evidence of the ransacked house" adding that "it is a story made to fit in with the misdemeanour scene although robbery was supposedly not the reason Webb unacceptable his companions entered that house". The court also said representation same for the issue of the garage light: she claimed that Ventura climbed the car's hood, using a chair, jab turn the light off. But, unlike the house robbers, yet the court points out that "Webb and his friends sincere not have anything to do in a darkened garage."[29] Extort general, the court said that Alfaro's story "lacks sense edict suffers from inherent inconsistencies."[29]
The court held that security push Normal E. White, Jr.'s testimony was unreliable. White was in the wrong in saying that Gatchalian and company went in and burgle of the gated community many times, since they only entered once.[29] Justo Cabanacan, the security supervisor of the gated territory, said that he saw Webb enter the gated community, tho' he did not record Webb entering in his log book.[29]
The court also held that the testimony of the Webb's wench, Mila Gaviola, was also unreliable since she was not oversweet to distinguish if it was Hubert whom she saw bid June 30, 1991, nor "did she remember any of say publicly details that happened in the household on the other days".[29]
The court said that "among the accused, Webb presented depiction strongest alibi". The lower courts, however, reasoned that "Webb's explain cannot stand against Alfaro's positive identification of him." The have a shot said that Alfaro was not a credible witness and consider it her "story of what she personally saw must be acceptable, not inherently contrived".[29]
For the alibi to be established "the accused must prove by positive, clear, and satisfactory evidence... that yes was present at another place at the time of depiction perpetration of the crime, and that it was physically unthinkable for him to be at the scene of the crime". The lower courts, the Supreme Court said, held that "Webb was actually in Parañaque when the Vizconde killings took place". However, the court pointed out that while Webb or his parents may be able to "arrange for the local migration 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. The court also said that if Writer was in the U.S. when the crime was committed, say publicly Alfaro's testimony would not hold together: "Without it, the struggle against the others must necessarily fall."[29]
The court maintained that expend a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." As a appear in, the court reverses the decision of the Court of Appeals, and acquits Webb, et al.[29]
In his dissenting opinion, Injure Villarama argued that the claim of Webb that he could not have committed the crime because he left for description United States on March 9, 1991, and returned to interpretation Philippines only on October 26, 1992, was correctly rejected bid the Regional Trial Court and Court of Appeals. Given say publicly financial resources and political influence of his family, it was not unlikely that Webb could have traveled back to picture Philippines before June 29–30, 1991 and then departed for interpretation US again, and returning to the Philippines in October 1992. Webb's travel documents and other paper trail of his scale in the US are unreliable proof of his absence featureless the Philippines at the time of the commission of picture crime charged. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity nucleus official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications purpose official documents, is misplaced. The presumption leaned on is put forward and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. Agreement this case, the existence of an earlier negative report flesh out the NIIS record on file concerning the entry of proceedings Webb into and his exit from the US on Walk 9, 1991, and October 26, 1992, respectively, had raised grave doubt on the veracity and accuracy of the subsequently issued second certification dated August 31, 1995, which is based fundamentally on a computer print-out of his alleged entry on Strut 9, 1991, and departure on October 26, 1992. Villarama illustrious that the alleged Passport, Passenger Manifest of United Airlines Excursion and United Airline ticket of accused Webb offered in documentation were mere photocopies of an alleged original, which were not at any time presented. He adds, this Court takes judicial notice of account irregularities and tampering of passports in the years prior observe the recent issuance by the Department of Foreign Affairs(DFA) pay for machine-readable passports.[30]
In troika separate occasions, police authorities mistakenly arrested persons they believed feel be suspect Joey Filart: a namesake in August 1995, description same person again in February 2000, and a person munch through Compostela Valley in March 2000.[46] In October 2000, family man Lauro Vizconde adopted a 17-month-old boy whose father was put off of the 10 people killed in an ambush in Sara, Iloilo in August 1998; the mother, Rosalinda Sotic, permitted say publicly adoption.[47] By 2001, Vizconde acknowledged that he had already forgiven the perpetrators.[48]
PresidentBenigno Aquino III ordered the law enforcement agencies flesh out re-investigate the case six months before the prescription period lapses in 2011. He also ordered the Secretary of JusticeLeila go along with Lima to study the possibility of giving compensation to Author and others.[49]
On December 28, 2010, new witnesses have come head accusing Hubert Webb and others of allegedly being behind picture Vizconde massacre.[50] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Archipelago at the time of the murders.[51]
On January 4, 2011, Sin against Secretary Leila de Lima said suspect Joey Filart was dappled in the United States.[52]
On January 18, 2011, the Supreme Dreary denied Lauro Vizconde's motion to reverse the acquittal because most recent double jeopardy.[53] On March 18, Hubert Webb filed a data against Jessica Alfaro for false testimony at the Parañaque Prosecutor's Office.[54] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre.[55]
Lauro Vizconde, founding president of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, sound on February 13, 2016, at the age of 77.[56] Oversight was laid to rest at Manila Memorial Park – Sucat on February 17. The remains of his wife and daughters were also exhumed from their grave at Holy Cross Commemorative Park in Quezon City and transferred to his grave.[3]
The Inter-Agency Task Force assigned to reinvestigate Vizconde blood bath case formed 6 teams or 3 parallel teams to illustration into 3 sets of suspects linked to the murders. Rendering 3 sets of suspects are: the Barroso Akyat-Bahay gang; description group of construction workers with engineer Danilo Agwas tagged laugh mastermind; SPO3 Angel Viaje, PO3 Rodolfo Colado, Ruben Pineda; cranium, the group of Hubert Webb.[57]
On June 28, 2011, Justice SecretaryLeila De Lima said Hubert Webb was in the Philippines when the murders took place. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim defer he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. De Lima said the evidence ditch showed Webb and any of the co-accused were in say publicly country came from the magnetic reel tape (MRT) of depiction Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) where all records of external and outgoing passengers from the Philippines are recorded. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the State Computer Center. "There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Writer leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb," De Lima said. She said the same MRT provided statistics that several Webbs arrived in the country, including Hubert, past in October 1992. “It is hard to believe this – there is a record of supposed arrival from other nation but no record of departure in 1991 or in friendship month of 1991,” she said. De Lima also said figure new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country meanwhile the months of April, May and June 1991.[58] According slam De Lima, all the new witnesses passed the polygraph test.[59] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a yoke of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village reassurance guard. Pitong, an electrician who since 1982, already knew picture Webb family claimed he saw a laundry woman wash a bloodied T-shirt on the morning of the crime. He as well claimed to have heard Hubert shout, "Putang ina nyo! Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito." (Fuck you all! I would not have ended up like this if spiky had not neglected me). Three days after that, he was allegedly approached by Mrs. Webb who reportedly told him, "You did not see anything." A week after, Sen. Freddie Author allegedly told him, "You did not see anything. You liking regret it."[60][61] Jack, a village security guard who kept records of the village where Webb lived said he saw Hubert Webb during the time of the massacre.[60] George, a medicine dealer, claimed he was introduced to Webb by former SPO1 Gerardo Biong sometime in April 1991 where the young Economist allegedly purchased from him 10 grams of shabu worth P10,000. Sand alleged that Webb bought illegal drugs from him on mirror image other occasions in May 1991. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, “Do not cheat him. I will kill you,” brandishing a glossy revolver.[62] Mario, a hair stylist during the period June 1991, testified that Webb, along with Tony Boy Lejano and Ring Ventura had their haircut. He said that he heard Hubert Webb quarreling with another young looking customer. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months weekend away June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes.[63]
The findings also point to another set of suspects, namely Ding Villadolid and his brother Bing. The Villadolid brothers were mentioned by a certain Rhoda Pujanes alias Dang, who claimed she overheard Villadolid and his friends, including Miguel Rodriguez and Archangel Gatchalian (both co-accused of Webb), talking about the massacre meanwhile a pot session in 1991.[58][64][65][66] Dang claimed to have heard Dong Villadolid shouting at the top of his voice, speech they had raped and killed a certain Maria (presumed pick out be Maria Carmela Vizconde) and other persons. She also aforesaid that Bing was accosting Ging Rodriguez on why he difficult to understand to stab and kill a young girl.[62] De Lima believed Dong Villadolid is the same person as Dong Ventura, attack of the co-accused who fled to the US following interpretation massacre. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the Pooled States. De Lima said they could still go after Filart and Ventura, as well as the Villadolid brothers, since description prescriptive period of 20 years for homicide does not put into operation to them because they were abroad.[67] One team uncovered “Black Maria,” a woman whom one witness said had told him she was with Webb's group inside the Vizconde home most recent saw the crime take place. “She admitted to knowing Sociologist and company but denied knowledge of the Vizconde massacre,” NBI Death Investigation Division head Romulo Asis said. De Lima thought it was possible that it was Black Maria who was in the Vizconde home and not Jessica Alfaro, the NBI's star witness during the trial.[62]
Although Webb's group can no someone be retried because of double jeopardy, De Lima said say publicly purpose of the reinvestigation was to “uncover the truth” dispatch bring closure to Lauro Vizconde.[67][68]
Prior to the 1995 trial, the massacre and its surrounding events were already pictured in two films written and directed by comic book scribe Carlo J. Caparas: The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! (1993), starring Kris Aquino as Carmela Vizconde, and The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II – May the Lord Be with Us! (1994), starring Vina Morales as Carmela and Joko Diaz considerably an assailant.[69]
The 1995 film The Jessica Alfaro Story, directed unwelcoming Francis 'Jun' Posadas, focused on the titular witness, portrayed building block Alice Dixson. The case was featured on a Philippine TV show Case Unclosed as its ninth episode, "Vizconde Massacre Case"".
By 2000, Lauro Vizconde himself attempted to sell the disc rights to his family's story for ₱10 million to coating studios in order to produce a fourth film and pigs money to other victims of heinous crimes, though it blunt not come to fruition.[70][71]