Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - The patriarch of the murdered Vizconde family asked the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to set aside the acquittal of Hubert Webb and five others convicted of the 1991 rape of his 18-year-old daughter, and the killing of his wife and 9-year-old daughter.
Represented by Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta and other lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office, Lauro Vizconde told the SC that in 1986 it granted the second motion for reconsideration of the wife of Rolando Galman, the military-tagged assassin of Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., for the retrial of the soldiers acquitted of the Aquino-Galman murders.
“The judgment is a tainted judgment and is an exception to the double jeopardy rule,” Vizconde said.
“The highly questionable and suspicious evidence for the defense taints with serious doubts the validity of the decision acquitting the accused.”
Vizconde said the way the SC would finally decide the rape and murder of Carmela, and the killing of Estrellita and Jennifer would have a tremendous impact on the future of crime investigation and the appreciation of evidence by the courts.
“Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer have long been dead, but they and the entire country cry out for truth and justice,” he said.
Vizconde said the SC committed grave abuse in the treatment of evidence and the prosecution witnesses and decided the case in a manner that resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
Accepting his motion for reconsideration would enable the SC to “correct its errors” in its ruling last Dec. 14, he added.
Vizconde said the SC denied the prosecution due process in acquitting Webb and the five others.
The SC had also acquitted police officer Gerardo Biong, who had been convicted of tampering with evidence and was freed in October after completing his sentence.
It seriously misappreciated the facts, and unreasonably regarded prosecution star witness Jessica Alfaro as lacking credibility, he added.
Vizconde said Alfaro was a credible witness since her testimonies were consistent with forensic evidence.
The SC relied solely on the testimony of NBI official Artemio Sacaguing, a witness for the defense, in discrediting Alfaro, he added.
To infer that the NBI allowed an asset to have free and unlimited access to evidence and information is inconsistent with the legal presumption that public officers regularly perform their official duties, Vizconde said.
Alfaro’s testimony was the basis for the Parañaque Regional Trial Court to convict Webb and five others in 2000.
Vizconde asked the SC to set his motion for oral arguments on Jan. 15.
They have three new witnesses: former NBI deputy director Pedro Rivera, Alfaro’s childhood friend and former NBI employee Cresencio Nombres Jr., and forensic expert Erwin Erfe, who conducted a behavioral evidence analysis and forensic analysis of Alfaro’s testimony and autopsy findings.
However, Webb’s lawyer Demetrio Custodio believes the SC would reject Vizconde’s motion for reconsideration.
“Once an accused has been acquitted, he cannot be prosecuted again,” he said.
“The only exception to that is that there is no double jeopardy if there is a void judgment. In this case, there is no void judgment.
“And therefore, the rule against double jeopardy prevents the filing of a motion for reconsideration.”
Vizconde and his supporters from the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption later asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to help protect their new witnesses.
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