By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) Updated December 16, 2010
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) is mulling a reinvestigation of the Vizconde massacre after the Supreme Court (SC) acquitted Hubert Webb and five others who were found by a trial court to be guilty of the crime committed almost two decades ago.
But the SC clarified yesterday that its ruling, which stated that the guilt of Webb and his co-accused was not established beyond reasonable doubt during trial, does not necessarily mean they are innocent.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the SC ruling clearing Webb, Hospicio Fernandez, Antonio Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Peter Estrada, Miguel Rodriguez and Gerardo Biong was a challenge to the DOJ.
Biong, who was convicted for destroying evidence of the crime, was released from prison on Nov. 29 after completing his sentence.
“Given the fact that the highest court of the land has already said that the (pieces of) evidence presented by the prosecutors in court were not convincing, we really have to find (the truth) now,” De Lima told reporters.
She said the government is heeding the call of Lauro Vizconde for authorities to look for the real killers of his wife and two daughters on June 30, 1991 if those convicted for the crime were really innocent.
“It’s up to you to decide if the decision was right or wrong,” Vizconde said.
He gave assurance that he will respect the SC decision but quickly stressed that it does not mean that he won’t contest the verdict, which he said was against his and other people’s belief.
Vizconde said he will consult his lawyers about their next legal step since the SC has already refused to entertain any motion for reconsideration.
De Lima said even with the SC decision, she doesn’t think anybody can call it a real closure.
“It may be a closure in the legal sense, but factually and for the sake of truth - we still have to find out (who the perpetrators were). This is a sensational, high-profile case that should be accorded a proper closure,” she said.
DOJ: Ventura and Filart could be the key
De Lima said she wants an intensified hunt for the two other accused - Artemio Ventura and Joey Filart - who have remained in hiding since Webb and the five others were convicted of rape with homicide by Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 in January 2000.
She said the two wanted persons could be key to the closure of the case, adding that she would also discuss the possibility of a reinvestigation with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula after a review of the case.
De Lima said she wants to find out what went wrong in the earlier investigation and prosecution of the case that led to the SC acquittal of the accused.
She said the reinvestigation would be “very incisive, thorough and in-depth,” stressing that not even Webb and the other accused would be spared.
“We cannot run after them under the ordinary courses under the law because of the double jeopardy doctrine, but at least the family of the victim may have peace of mind,” she said.
De Lima said the government would ask the cooperation of star witness Jessica Alfaro, who was already branded by the SC as “a fairly good substitute witness” whose testimonies had many “inherent inconsistencies.”
“The majority of the justices did not believe her, but we don’t know if she really knew or could pinpoint who really knew about this case,” she said.
She added that the robbery angle, which had been dismissed in the earlier investigation, would also be looked into but admitted that there would be challenges because pieces of evidence “would have gone cold already.”
Prescription period
De Lima said the DOJ has only until June next year to file the case due to prescription period under the law that would lapse 20 years after the commission of a crime punishable by 20 years’ imprisonment.
SC administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez confirmed the DOJ secretary’s observation.
“The prescriptive period to prosecute a case where imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua would be 20 years. After 20 years and no case has been filed in court yet, that case can no longer be prosecuted. In this case, if the offense was committed in 1991, after June 30, 2011 that case can no longer be prosecuted,” Marquez told a press conference.
He clarified that the SC ruling that Webb and his co-accused’s guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt did not necessarily declare their innocence because it is not tantamount to establishing the innocence of the accused.
He added that Webb and the other accused acquitted by the SC may seek civil damages from the government for their incarceration of over 15 years.
Marquez also said then Parañaque RTC Branch 274 judge and now Court of Appeals Justice Amelita Tolentino could not be penalized for the wrong verdict.
Palace backs reopening of case
Meanwhile, Malacañang backed the pronouncements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the DOJ to reopen the investigation into the incident.
PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo has said he is ready to coordinate with the NBI to again look into the case and willing to meet Vizconde after the situation simmers down.
“This is a democratic country. I can only commiserate with the families of the victims, but I still have to respect the democratic institutions of the country. Everybody is presumed innocent. Everybody has a day in court,” he said.
President Aquino said looking at the Vizconde patriarch, “it’s really difficult to think that you lost your family and while you thought you had achieved justice, we’re back to square one.”
“If the decision of the Supreme Court is correct, they are saying that there is only one more year left before the prescription period to arrest the real suspects. There are even two who were never originally put in prison,” Aquino said in an ambush interview in Occidental Mindoro. “I really pity Mr. Vizconde.”
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President did not have any specific marching orders as regards the case but stressed it was the duty of government to give justice to the people.
She said Vizconde could avail himself of all legal means to obtain justice even as he accused the SC justices of receiving bribe money to acquit Webb and the others.
Valte added that Vizconde could go to the PNP or the DOJ to press criminal charges but she was silent on possible impeachment complaint against the justices.
She said the President “would like to be apprised of the details of what went on” because so much time had passed between the conviction of the Parañaque regional trial court and the SC acquittal.
She said it would be up to the SC to explain why it took so long for the case to be resolved with finality.
Valte explained that the police would have to go after those who remained at large as they have outstanding warrants of arrest.
“So that means if they still have standing arrest warrants and they are apprehended, they will have to go through trials,” she said.
On Vizconde’s allegation that the SC justices were paid, Valte said he should go to the authorities and give his side of the story and bring it before the DOJ if he has evidence.
She said the Palace could not comment on a possible impeachment case against the justices.
A call for sobriety
Senators called on concerned agencies to review the investigation of the case because “there could be loopholes in past investigations.”
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, whose father, the late Sen. Rene Cayetano, acted as the private prosecutor in the case, joined some of his colleagues in the call for reinvestigation but defended Alfaro.
He said the SC acquittal does not totally eradicate of possible guilt of the accused.
“The standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ may have not been met, but this does not make the witness Jessica Alfaro an incredible witness,” he said, expressing concern over reports that Alfaro may be extradited and could face counter charges.
“I’d like to respect the court and the families involved, both the Vizcondes and the Webbs. I’ll keep to myself my personal opinion about the case itself,” he said.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, on the other hand, said the NBI can reinvestigate the case “as long as the crime in not prescribed.”
“It is open to the effort of the government to ferret out the perpetrator,” the Senate president said.
At the House of Representatives, party-list lawmakers appealed for calm and sobriety amid allegations and speculations over the SC decision.
AKO Bicol party-list Reps. Christopher Co, Rodel Batocabe and Alfredo Garbin said they join President Aquino in “expressing sympathy for Vizconde for the tragedy suffered by his family and the travails he has gone through in his quest for justice.”
“Disagreement and disappointment in their decisions are normal, even favorable, in a democratic society like ours. But the Supreme Court is the court of last resort. Once it has spoken, we should respect it. To undermine the Supreme Court will leave the people without an institution to resort to in their quest for justice,” Batocabe said.
The lawmakers urged their colleagues in the House and the judiciary “to look for ways to improve and upgrade the country’s investigative and prosecutorial services to make the administration of justice more efficient.”
Batocabe said, “Lawmakers and policy-makers should revisit and evaluate and, if necessary, revise our current culture of investigation and prosecution, and update them based on technological advancements.”
“Instead of blaming an institution, we should work together to strengthen and upgrade the investigative, prosecutorial, and enforcement services. There should be institutionalized training to build a case on hard or physical evidence and look beyond confession, crime scenes should be preserved,” he said.
On Tuesday, seven justices reversed the decision upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2005 “for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
Associate Justice Roberto Abad, Senior Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, and Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza and Ma. Lourdes Sereno also refused to entertain any motion for reconsideration in line with their ruling.
Four justices voted against acquittal and four others inhibited.
Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. was joined by Chief Justice Renato Corona and Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Teresita Leonardo de Castro in voting against the acquittal.
In his dissenting opinion, Villarama said Alfaro’s positive identification of Webb outweighed his alibi that he was not in the country when the gruesome massacre occurred.
“Against positive evidence, alibi becomes most unsatisfactory,” he said, disagreeing with his colleagues’ opinion that Alfaro’s testimony was “inherently incredible” and that she was not a credible witness. - With Aie Balagtas See, Jess Diaz, Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe
No comments:
Post a Comment