Today, January 7, various groups led by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. will have a press conference at The Orange Place Hotel, Kamias Road, Quezon City.
Topic---the unification of groups all seeking for justice in the Vizconde massacre case and other unsolved criminal cases.
The group which was called People's Movement for Justice (PMJ) is the biggest civil society grouping since the assumption of the new administration.
Collectively, the group commands the biggest aggrupation--estimated at about 5 million members nationwide.
Dante Jimenez, formerly the chair of the VACC, is one of the lead convenors, together with Vice President Tito Guingona.
PMJ is composed of all sectors in the Philippine Civil Society Movement. Those who already gave their solidarity for the group are the following:
Rep. Lisa Masa of the group Gabriela
Satur Ocampo of Bayan
Rasti Delizo of Sanlakas
Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa
Theody of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino
Father Robert Reyes
Ret. General Raymundo Jarque
Mary "Rosebud" Ong for Whistleblowers
Lauro Vizconde
Atty. Mike Topacio
Sister Mary Jane Mananzan
Ecumenical Movement in the Philippines
Para sa Bayan (PSB)
YOU (Young Organizers' Union)
This is somewhat a rainbow coalition of groups now resolved to fight the scourge of injustice in the country. Injustice assumes many forms, not just the injustice in resolving criminal cases.
The fight is on! Onward revolutionary forces towards true JUstice and Freedom!
Showing posts with label lauro vizconde. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lauro vizconde. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tito Guingona: Fight for Justice continues with Vizconde case
 |
| Group supports Mang Lauro's quest |
Guingona, a seasoned lawyer and legislator, said that the Supreme Court erred in reversing the decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Regional Trial Court which found Hubert Webb and the rest of his buddies, guilty of killing the Vizcondes in 1991.
He, along with VACC chairman Dante Jimenez, Mary "Rosebud" Ong, Capt Dizon, General Jarque, Rasti Delizo of Sanlakas, Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa, and Father Robert Reyes joins anti-crime crusader Lauro Vizconde in asking the Court to do a self-reversal of the previous ruling exonerating Webb etal from the crime.
 |
| People's Movement for Justice (PM-JUSTICE) |
A decision coming from the Highest Tribunal of the land cannot be reversed by any other body except itself. Since the decision was "final and executory", any appeal or petition for reconsideration will actually be deemed null and void. A known principle of double jeopardy prevents anybody from filing a case with the same information or the same facts against the same accused individual in a case.
The meeting was the first one attended by big people's organizations since the assumption of the new administration.
The January 10 mobilization is expected to attract at least 5,000 people, according to rally organizers. If these groups unify, this will be the largest ever people's gathering in the eight month old administration.
Meanwhile, Justice secretary Leila de Lima says elements of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are now hot on the heels of fugitive Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura, two suspects pinpointed by Jessica Alfaro as responsible for the brutal massacre of the Vizcondes.
De Lima said she will be initiating a move aimed at extraditing Joey Filart. This information proves the credibility of Alfaro, says De Lima.
Alfaro appeared before the courts in 1994, who claimed to have witnessed the killing of the Vizcondes. Her testimony was used to convict Webb etal. The same testimony was used by the Supreme Court in exonerating Webb etal.
For De Lima, the positive identification of Filart proves the authenticity of Alfaro's testimony.
Alfaro remains in hiding. Some quarters are saying that Alfaro will surface anytime to give support to Mang Lauro Vizconde. The only question is when.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Vizconde Massacre Update 3: Lauro fights for Justice
Whoever killed the Vizcondes nineteen years ago probably thought that the case is finally over. He and his group probably thought that Lauro, the family patriarch, already gave up when the Supreme Court decided to release Hubert Webb and several others initially suspected of being the ones who brutally murdered Lauro's wife Estrellita, raped and killed Carmela and inflicted multiple stab wounds against Jennifer, the youngest victim in the 1991 gruesome massacre which shocked the nation.
Wrong.
For Lauro, the Supreme Court decision is just a start of a brand new ball game. He insists that the NBI, the police and the courts did not err in tagging Hubert Webb and several prominent names as perpetuators of the crime. Fact is, Lauro believes in the testimony of the lone eye witness, Jessica Alfaro, that, indeed, Hubert Webb and the rest of his buddies committed the crime nineteen years ago.
The Supreme Court thinks that Alfaro is a tainted witness, a liar, whose testimony was manufactured by the National Bureau of Investigation.
Really, if you study this case, this would have been different if there were pieces of evidence presented which scientifically or forensically linked or proved the link between Webb etal and the murder or crime scene.
Let's admit that the NBI, in those times, employed very crude methods in solving this crime. Were fingerprints lifted from the crime scene? How about the blood samples recovered from the crime scene, where were they? The agency even blundered when they lost the sperm sample recovered from the cadaver of Carmela. This would have given the courts sufficient evidence to believe or disbelieve the testimony of Alfaro.
Instead of relying on scientific evidence, this case became somewhat of "she said, he said" thing. It was never scientific from the very start. That's why the case is weak.
Now, revisiting a 20 or so year old crime scene is still possible, if the integrity of the place is still intact.
The NBI can still revisit the place and use sophisticated equipment available to them now, and lift pieces of vital evidence from the crime scene.
For example, I was given the information that Mang Lauro replaced his wallpaper because it was full of blood. Where are the remnants of this wallpaper? Maybe Mang Lauro can give the investigating team those old and blood filled wallpaper for analysis.
Now, if this is entirely not possible given the age of the crime scene, the only recourse left is circumstantial, meaning, try to re-enact or piece the recovered evidence together and picture the crime as it happened.
Four things:
1. Whoever did the crime knew the Vizcondes since they were able to go inside the house without employing force.
2. Whoever did the crime was either drug induced or hated the victims so much, they brutally inflicted wounds that an ordinary person of a stable mental condition would surely not do.
3. Whoever did the crime did it out of spite to Carmela, who was brutally raped and stabbed repeatedly. Fact is, it is even possible that Carmela and her sister Jennifer knew the suspect since Jennifer suffered defensive wounds and was stabbed nineteen times, probably when she was trying to either defend herself or her sister from the perpetuator.
This is a very crucial aspect of the case since this proves that the perpetuator of the crime only wanted to rape Carmela, probably out to spite her, to humiliate her, not necessarily to satisfy his carnal desire. The entire crime revolved around this simple fact--the motivation was clearly rape Carmela just to spite her.
Had it been that the motivation was carnal desire, Estrellita would have been raped as well. Estrellita's body was not violated.
If the purpose was to rob the place, then, the suspects would have carted several valuable items from the house. Estrellita's money and jewelry were all intact, save a few which were possibly stolen post-mortem.
4. Whoever did it has or have links with Biong, the first to the scene investigator, who burned all the pieces of evidence without recording or documenting them.
Process of elimination
1. Akyat-Bahay gang members. We all know the modus operandi of Akyat-Bahay gang members. They don't kill. They just tie up their victims and rob the place.
Now, is it entirely possible that these criminals took a fancy of Carmela and decided to rape her? Possibly. How about kill her? Possible, but under the circumstances, least likely.
If these suspects did the crime, then, why spare Estrellita and why inflict such mortal wounds to Carmela and her sister, Jennifer? Two mortal wounds are enough to debilitate and or kill their victims, but not nineteen stab wounds.
The wounds inflicted show you the state of mind of the perpetuator. It was not just to kill, but kill severely or kill with such brutality. Only a drug crazed individual would do this, or someone mentally unstable or passionately hate his victim.
2. Policemen or associates of Biong. There is a theory that policemen or cops did the crime. Again, this is entirely possible. If they, indeed committed the crime, then, why this brutality? Why spare Estrellita? Estrellita was just killed because she probably prevented the suspect or the suspects from reaching Carmela.
Carmela was not raped by a gang--she was raped and killed by one man. Had one gang perpetuated the crime, they would have taken turns raping Carmela and even possibly, Estrellita.
Likewise, the state of the crime scene showed that an amateur did the crime, someone unfamiliar with police procedures or someone unmindful of leaving traces of his crime in the scene. Had it been the police, they would have surely, and probably just killed the victims with one or two stab wounds and not twelve or nineteen stab wounds. They would have cleansed the crime scene with every trace of their own blood or skin or any pieces of evidence. These wounds show you the state of mind of the criminal when he was committing the crime. Such brutality and gruesomeness can only be committed by someone crazy enough to commit such a crime.
3. Construction workers. Possible, especially if they were under a state of drugs induced hallucination. If workers were involved, then, two things might have happened: they would have repeatedly raped Carmela and would have stolen several pieces of jewelry inside the house. They would have ransacked the house.
Carmela, based on findings, was raped by just one man--not severally, and killed by the hand of one man. Besides, if these workers were drug crazed, they would have probably violated the entire family, including Jennifer. Jennifer was just brutally killed while defending herself and Carmela. Estrellita, again, let me say this, was not raped.
4. The architect and his men. The architect, a close family friend of the Vizcondes, is the weakest among four possible suspects. Why? A background check revealed that the architect was not present within 5 kilometer radius of the house, had a very solid alibi, and never even dabbled in drugs. He never took a fancy of Carmela nor any member of the family. How about his men? This cannot be because those men left the place several months prior to the massacre and even if they, pre-planned the crime, and probably took a fancy of Carmela, why was Carmela raped by just one man and not several?
5. Now, is it possible that Joey Filart, a nephew of then NCR head General Filart and his friend, Artemio Ventura, did it and not Hubert Webb? Flight, under the law, is a clear sign of complicity.
Before Carmela died, she revealed that she rejected the overtures of a man who claims to be the son of a politician. She, however, failed to specifically identify this man to his father.
Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura are known drug dependents in that subdivision. They are well connected. And surely, they have connections with the Paranaque police since his uncle was then the head of the NCR. Among these groups, there are only two groups who probably committed this crime: Filart and Webb.
Let's admit one thing, and every BF subdivision resident knew this eversince--Hubert Webb and his friends are not your average group of users. Everyone knows they were drug dependents. Everyone knows that they took an interest in the case post-mortem, since some of them were caught observing the crime scene when Biong and several others were conducting an investigation.
If, the Webb group claims that they don't know each other, it's quite implausible. Tonyboy Lejano knows HUbert Webb. They belong to one group.
Besides, they did not raise it during the trials. If they were really fall guys, they did not protest this as wildly and as loudly as those Akyat Bahay gang members, who were tortured and made to admit the crime.
Hubert Webb and the rest of these suspects were not tortured. Why allow yourself to suffer more than fifteen years of incarceration if you really believe that you are innocent? An innocent guy would have raised hell back then.
But, no. If you will just look at the demeanor of the suspects during the time when the case was being heard, they were under a state of quiet acceptance, probably they already prepared themselves psychologically that the authorities already caught them and its the end of the line for them. If they were really fall guys, they should have shouted it to high heavens when they were caught. But no, when they were arrested, their expressions were of those criminals who really did the crime.
Wrong.
For Lauro, the Supreme Court decision is just a start of a brand new ball game. He insists that the NBI, the police and the courts did not err in tagging Hubert Webb and several prominent names as perpetuators of the crime. Fact is, Lauro believes in the testimony of the lone eye witness, Jessica Alfaro, that, indeed, Hubert Webb and the rest of his buddies committed the crime nineteen years ago.
The Supreme Court thinks that Alfaro is a tainted witness, a liar, whose testimony was manufactured by the National Bureau of Investigation.
Really, if you study this case, this would have been different if there were pieces of evidence presented which scientifically or forensically linked or proved the link between Webb etal and the murder or crime scene.
Let's admit that the NBI, in those times, employed very crude methods in solving this crime. Were fingerprints lifted from the crime scene? How about the blood samples recovered from the crime scene, where were they? The agency even blundered when they lost the sperm sample recovered from the cadaver of Carmela. This would have given the courts sufficient evidence to believe or disbelieve the testimony of Alfaro.
Instead of relying on scientific evidence, this case became somewhat of "she said, he said" thing. It was never scientific from the very start. That's why the case is weak.
Now, revisiting a 20 or so year old crime scene is still possible, if the integrity of the place is still intact.
The NBI can still revisit the place and use sophisticated equipment available to them now, and lift pieces of vital evidence from the crime scene.
For example, I was given the information that Mang Lauro replaced his wallpaper because it was full of blood. Where are the remnants of this wallpaper? Maybe Mang Lauro can give the investigating team those old and blood filled wallpaper for analysis.
Now, if this is entirely not possible given the age of the crime scene, the only recourse left is circumstantial, meaning, try to re-enact or piece the recovered evidence together and picture the crime as it happened.
Four things:
1. Whoever did the crime knew the Vizcondes since they were able to go inside the house without employing force.
2. Whoever did the crime was either drug induced or hated the victims so much, they brutally inflicted wounds that an ordinary person of a stable mental condition would surely not do.
3. Whoever did the crime did it out of spite to Carmela, who was brutally raped and stabbed repeatedly. Fact is, it is even possible that Carmela and her sister Jennifer knew the suspect since Jennifer suffered defensive wounds and was stabbed nineteen times, probably when she was trying to either defend herself or her sister from the perpetuator.
This is a very crucial aspect of the case since this proves that the perpetuator of the crime only wanted to rape Carmela, probably out to spite her, to humiliate her, not necessarily to satisfy his carnal desire. The entire crime revolved around this simple fact--the motivation was clearly rape Carmela just to spite her.
Had it been that the motivation was carnal desire, Estrellita would have been raped as well. Estrellita's body was not violated.
If the purpose was to rob the place, then, the suspects would have carted several valuable items from the house. Estrellita's money and jewelry were all intact, save a few which were possibly stolen post-mortem.
4. Whoever did it has or have links with Biong, the first to the scene investigator, who burned all the pieces of evidence without recording or documenting them.
Process of elimination
1. Akyat-Bahay gang members. We all know the modus operandi of Akyat-Bahay gang members. They don't kill. They just tie up their victims and rob the place.
Now, is it entirely possible that these criminals took a fancy of Carmela and decided to rape her? Possibly. How about kill her? Possible, but under the circumstances, least likely.
If these suspects did the crime, then, why spare Estrellita and why inflict such mortal wounds to Carmela and her sister, Jennifer? Two mortal wounds are enough to debilitate and or kill their victims, but not nineteen stab wounds.
The wounds inflicted show you the state of mind of the perpetuator. It was not just to kill, but kill severely or kill with such brutality. Only a drug crazed individual would do this, or someone mentally unstable or passionately hate his victim.
2. Policemen or associates of Biong. There is a theory that policemen or cops did the crime. Again, this is entirely possible. If they, indeed committed the crime, then, why this brutality? Why spare Estrellita? Estrellita was just killed because she probably prevented the suspect or the suspects from reaching Carmela.
Carmela was not raped by a gang--she was raped and killed by one man. Had one gang perpetuated the crime, they would have taken turns raping Carmela and even possibly, Estrellita.
Likewise, the state of the crime scene showed that an amateur did the crime, someone unfamiliar with police procedures or someone unmindful of leaving traces of his crime in the scene. Had it been the police, they would have surely, and probably just killed the victims with one or two stab wounds and not twelve or nineteen stab wounds. They would have cleansed the crime scene with every trace of their own blood or skin or any pieces of evidence. These wounds show you the state of mind of the criminal when he was committing the crime. Such brutality and gruesomeness can only be committed by someone crazy enough to commit such a crime.
3. Construction workers. Possible, especially if they were under a state of drugs induced hallucination. If workers were involved, then, two things might have happened: they would have repeatedly raped Carmela and would have stolen several pieces of jewelry inside the house. They would have ransacked the house.
Carmela, based on findings, was raped by just one man--not severally, and killed by the hand of one man. Besides, if these workers were drug crazed, they would have probably violated the entire family, including Jennifer. Jennifer was just brutally killed while defending herself and Carmela. Estrellita, again, let me say this, was not raped.
4. The architect and his men. The architect, a close family friend of the Vizcondes, is the weakest among four possible suspects. Why? A background check revealed that the architect was not present within 5 kilometer radius of the house, had a very solid alibi, and never even dabbled in drugs. He never took a fancy of Carmela nor any member of the family. How about his men? This cannot be because those men left the place several months prior to the massacre and even if they, pre-planned the crime, and probably took a fancy of Carmela, why was Carmela raped by just one man and not several?
5. Now, is it possible that Joey Filart, a nephew of then NCR head General Filart and his friend, Artemio Ventura, did it and not Hubert Webb? Flight, under the law, is a clear sign of complicity.
Before Carmela died, she revealed that she rejected the overtures of a man who claims to be the son of a politician. She, however, failed to specifically identify this man to his father.
Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura are known drug dependents in that subdivision. They are well connected. And surely, they have connections with the Paranaque police since his uncle was then the head of the NCR. Among these groups, there are only two groups who probably committed this crime: Filart and Webb.
Let's admit one thing, and every BF subdivision resident knew this eversince--Hubert Webb and his friends are not your average group of users. Everyone knows they were drug dependents. Everyone knows that they took an interest in the case post-mortem, since some of them were caught observing the crime scene when Biong and several others were conducting an investigation.
If, the Webb group claims that they don't know each other, it's quite implausible. Tonyboy Lejano knows HUbert Webb. They belong to one group.
Besides, they did not raise it during the trials. If they were really fall guys, they did not protest this as wildly and as loudly as those Akyat Bahay gang members, who were tortured and made to admit the crime.
Hubert Webb and the rest of these suspects were not tortured. Why allow yourself to suffer more than fifteen years of incarceration if you really believe that you are innocent? An innocent guy would have raised hell back then.
But, no. If you will just look at the demeanor of the suspects during the time when the case was being heard, they were under a state of quiet acceptance, probably they already prepared themselves psychologically that the authorities already caught them and its the end of the line for them. If they were really fall guys, they should have shouted it to high heavens when they were caught. But no, when they were arrested, their expressions were of those criminals who really did the crime.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)