Webb's tears of joy / Vizconde's bitter tears

The acquittal on Tuesday, Dec. 14, of Hubert Webb and five other persons who had been imprisoned for 15 years after their conviction in the murder of Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde has drawn various reactions: from joy to disbelief to bitterness. On her son’s release, the mother of Webb said, “This is my best Christmas gift.”

One can easily see the joy on the faces of the released and their relatives as they hugged, laughed and shed tears as cameras zoomed in on them at the New Bilibid Prisons. Freed with Hubert Webb, son of former Sen. Freddie Webb, were Antonio Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Hospicio Fernandez, Miguel Rodriguez and Peter Estrada. A seventh person who had been convicted of being an accessory to the crime, policeman Gerardo Biong, was released earlier, on Nov. 29, 2010, on recommendation of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

The nation watched with bated breath for the High Tribunal’s decision. Once out, the decision was praised and condemned. Those who strongly believed that Webb et al were innocent from the start of the revelation of the massacre, praised the wisdom of the Supreme Court ruling. Seven justices had voted for acquittal, four dissented, and four abstained.

Those who voted for acquittal said the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the six former convicts “beyond reasonable doubt.” It lashed at the prosecution’s reliance on the testimony of Jessica Alfaro, who turned out to be a National Bureau of Investigation agent, who had been coached into lying to strengthen the charge of murder against the six accused.  

The justices who freed Webb et al were Associate Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales, Diosdado M. Peralta, Jose P. Perez, Lucas P. Bersamin, Jose C. Mendoza, Roberto A. Abad and Maria Lourdes A. Sereno.

But the justices who were against the acquittal — Chief Justice Renato Corona, Teresita J. Leonardo-de Castro, Martin S. Villarama Jr., and Arturo D. Brion, found Alfaro’s testimony “clear, convincing, sincere.”

Four associate justices abstained — Antonio P. Carpio, Mariano C. Del Castillo, Antonio Eduardo Nachura and Presbitero Velasco Jr.

That there is no uniform judgment on the released prisoners’ innocence shows the independence of the members of the judiciary. Each voted according to his conscience. The innocent must be made free; the guilty must be placed behind bars.

There’s the question of the slow grinding of the wheels of justice. Why did it take so many years to determine the innocence of Webb and the others? The case began when the bodies of Estrellita Vizconde, 47, and her daughters Carmela, 18, and Jennifer, 7, were found lifeless with multiple stab wounds in their residence in Paranaque on June 30, 1991. Carmela was established to have been raped as well.

Five men were called for questioning. On Sept. 4, 1995, Webb et al pleaded not guilty during arraignment. On Jan. 6, 2000, Regional Trial Court of Paranaque Judge Amelita Tolentino declared Webb, Michael Gatchallian, Hospicio Fernandez, Peter Estrada, Antonio Lejano and Miguel Rodriguez — scions of financially well-off families — guilty of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment.  

Outside of the six convicted for murder, policeman Biong was dismissed from the service by the National Police Commission in 1993 after he was found guilty of bungling the investigation by causing the destruction of evidence at the crime scene. Judge Tolentino’s Jan. 6, 2000 186-page decision also sentenced Biong to 15 years imprisonment. On Nov. 29, 2010, after serving his term, Biong, was freed from the New Bilibid Prisons.

 The Supreme Court justices actively stepped into the Vizconde case on Nov. 17, 2006, when it granted the request of the Court of Appeals for more time to review the pending motions for reconsideration of those convicted for the massacre. On April 22, 2010, it ordered the reopening of the case and granted the request of Webb for the forensic examination of evidence. It ordered the NBI to conduct a physical inventory of evidence in the Vizconde murder case, but the NBI admitted it did not have the semen taken from the body of Carmela as it had turned it over to the Paranaque court in 1996. The Paranaque court’s staff reported that the specimen was not in their custody. According to reports, Webb’s lawyers insisted that a DNA examination would have proven Webb’s semen would not be found in the body of Carmela. So the question arises, where did the semen go, who ordered its disappearance? And these questions lead some people to lose their faith in the NBI, in police investigators, well, in the justice system as well.

The Supreme Court acquittal on Dec. 14, 2010 ended the 15 year-imprisonment of Webb and his co-accused.

Another question arises: will the released get compensated for the wrong verdict handed down by the RTC judge, who is now a member of the Court of Appeals? Imagine spending 15 years inside the New Bilibid Prisons.

There are those who still believe that the freed six are guilty. But they have no evidence to prove that, only their gut feeling and supreme sympathy for the bereft Lauro Vizconde.

My heart goes out to Lauro. The media outlets have shown him ageing, his face twisting in pain and utter disappointment. In the 17 years since his family members’ deaths, he has endured pain and loneliness. It’s true that he had felt relieved over the lower court’s conviction of the then believed six killers of his family — 15 years ago. But with the Supreme Court’s decision acquitting the six, his abysmal grief has resurfaced, and the questions that hound him now, are, who are his real killers, where are they hiding? One of Lauro’s strongest supporters right from the start of the discovery of the Vizconde massacre, Dante Jimenez who is president of Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) has declared war against the justices whom he accuses of killing Lauro’s family “for the second time,” and calls on those who condemn the release of Webb et al to wear “something black.”

Lauro has not blasted the SC justices as fiercely as Jimenez, but he has been quoted as saying, “This is like a second massacre. Until when will we suffer? Now you know the plight of a victim of the justice system. Why should we still have faith?” He implored the court to help look for the real killers.

As for Senator Webb, his position is: “Those who are responsible for the wrongful incarceration of my son should not be allowed to get away with it with impunity. We will continue with our fight for justice by making those who are responsible to be held liable and fully accountable for the wrong conviction of an innocent man.”

* * *

My e-mail:[email protected]