Vizconde cop now a free man

MANILA, Philippines – Gerardo Biong, a former policeman convicted for destroying evidence in the 1991 Vizconde massacre case, walked out of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City yesterday, even as he insisted on his innocence.

“I never destroyed anything. Those are just insinuations,” said Biong, whose conviction by the Parañaque City court in 2000 was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2005.

He walked free shortly before noon. He was met by his wife, Jocelyn, and lawyer Ricardo Valmonte. The couple, clad in white, was emotional as Biong prepared to go.

“I’m really happy that my ordeal inside the prison has finally ended,” he said.

Biong, 60, was among the 124 prisoners freed from NBP yesterday following the recommendation of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

His release was supposed to be postponed indefinitely pending the Supreme Court’s ruling on a review of his case, according to Bureau of Corrections chief Ernesto Diokno.

No basis to extend detention

De Lima, on the other hand, rejected a request by Lauro Vizconde and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) asking her to recall the release order.

Vizconde said he was not informed of Biong’s release beforehand. He and the VACC asked De Lima to hold Biong until they are duly notified “about the computation of the sentence served by Biong.”

De Lima said there is nothing in the rules requiring that victims be notified prior to the release of inmates from the NBP.

“I have no recourse but to approve the release upon recommendation of Bucor. I have no discretion to extend the stay of the inmate. There is no basis to extend his detention,” she said.

De Lima said that based on records, Biong had already served his sentence of 12 years and should be released already “unless the Court orders the Bucor otherwise.”

She believes that Biong’s appeal before the SC is no longer relevant – if the High Court affirms his conviction, he has served his sentence so it would be “moot and academic.”

Negligent, innocent

Former senator Freddie Webb, father of one of the convicts, welcomed Biong’s release.

“He’s a guy who had been accused wrongly. It’s a pity that he has lost 15 years because of accusations based on the testimony of a bogus witness,” he told The STAR.

He believes the former policeman was only negligent in his job when he cleaned and burned some of the evidence recovered from the crime scene and was not an accomplice to the crime.

Biong was the case investigator in the killings of Estrellita, Carmela, and Jennifer Vizconde on June 30, 1991 and was accused of tampering with the evidence based on the instructions of prime massacre suspect Hubert Webb.

He was detained on Sept. 5, 1995 at the Parañaque City Jail together with Hubert, Peter Estrada, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Antonio Lejano II and Miguel Rodriguez. They have repeatedly denied the accusations.

The eight were transferred to NBP after Parañaque Judge Amelita Tolentino convicted them on Jan. 6, 2000. Biong was ordered to suffer 12 years in prison while the rest of the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Their conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2005 and is still pending before the Supreme Court. Two of the accused – Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura – remain at large.

The case became sensational because of the prominence of the respondents, who were arrested based on the testimony of Jessica Alfaro.

Hubert, who was also accused of raping Carmela, is a son of a former senator; Lejano is a son of actress-singer Pinky de Leon; Fernandez is a son of a retired commodore; Gatchalian and Rodriguez are sons of prominent lawyers; and Peter Estrada is a son of a wealthy businessman.

Filart is believed to be related to former National Capital Region Command chief Marino Filart, while Ventura is a businessman’s son.

Before walking out of NBP, Biong initially declined to give comment if Hubert and his co-accused committed the crime. “Right now, I cannot answer you,” he told radio station dzBB.

He later said in a press conference that he does not know the Webbs. He also said that he was “1,500 percent” sure Hubert was not involved in the crime.

Biong told dzBB also that he does not want to get involved in the case anymore but changed his mind during the press conference. “So that we can find out who are the real perpetrators of the crime,” he said.

He added that it was a relative of the Vizcondes who cleaned up the bloodied crime scene in preparation from the homecoming of the family patriarch Lauro from the United States.

Biong is not yet sure what to do next after his release. He said he might continue preaching the word of God, which is what he learned inside detention.

Biong also said he is ready to see Lauro and is even planning to thank him “that both of them are alive.” He said he is not angry with the Vizconde patriarch and that the real outrage should be against “those who made up all these stories.” – With Edu Punay, Michael Punongbayan