MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday deferred ruling on the appeal of convicted murderer and rapist Hubert Webb but did not set a date for handing down its final judgment on the celebrated 1991 Vizconde massacre case.
In a press conference, Court Administrator and SC Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the scheduled voting on the most awaited decision in the 19-year-old case was canceled after the magistrates asked for more time to decide whether to grant or deny Webb’s appeal.
“There were deliberations earlier during en banc session. However, some justices after hearing both sides asked for more time to study (the case),” Marquez said, adding that the delay will “enable the justices to submit their revised opinions or separate opinions.”
But the SC’s decision to defer action on the case did not sit well with Lauro Vizconde, whose wife, Estrellita, and daughters, Carmelita and Jennifer were killed in the massacre.
“It’s disgusting. We have to wait for an indefinite period again,” Lauro told reporters in an interview.
The Vizconde patriarch held a vigil in front of the SC Building on Padre Faura Street in Manila on the eve of the SC en banc session.
“Our case has been lodged with the Supreme Court for four years without action. And now, after the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court decision, we have to wait for another time,” Lauro said.
“That’s too long already. We’ve been waiting since 2007, when it was filed at the Supreme Court. Ang sabi pag aaralan pa raw. Kelan kaya ang katapusan? May katapusan pa kaya?” he asked.
Late last month, the SC set aside its earlier ruling which allowed the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test of the semen taken from the body of Carmela.
The latest SC decision cleared the way for the long-awaited verdict in the celebrated 1991 Vizconde massacre case.
The then 17-year-old Carmela was reportedly raped before being killed along with her mother Estrellita and six-year-old sister Jennifer in their Parañaque home on June 29, 1991.
In 2000, the Parañaque City Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted Webb and five other scions of rich families of murder and rape based on the testimony of the prosecution’s star witness, Jessica Alfaro. They were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Their conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals, prompting Webb and fellow convicts Antonio Lejano Jr., Michael Gatchalian, Hospicio Fernandez, Miguel Rodriguez and Peter Estrada to appeal their case before the SC.
Webb has been pushing for a DNA test since 1997 so he could disprove the prosecution’s accusation of rape against him. He was confident the test results would show the sperm extracted from Carmela’s body did not belong to him.
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