SC slams 'unbelievable' testimony of Vizconde massacre witness

(Update 6:47 p.m.) The Supreme Court (SC) has cast doubts on the credibility of Jessica Alfaro, the so-called star witness in the gruesome killings of three members of the Vizconde family almost two decades ago. In a 38-page strongly-worded decision promulgated on Tuesday, the court gave credence to the denial of Hubert Webb, who was among those convicted by a lower court for the massacre. The SC found Alfaro's testimony as "incoherent, if not inherently unbelievable. The SC said Alfaro was not supposedly an eyewitness but merely a National Bureau of Investigation agent who merely played the role that she saw the murders of Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde first hand. In acquitting the seven convicts in the Vizconde massacre case, the high court said: "It would be a serious mistake to send an innocent man to jail where such kind of doubt hangs on to one's inner being, like a piece of meat lodged immovable between teeth." "Will the Court send the accused to spend the rest of their lives in prison on the testimony of an NBI asset who proposed to her handlers that she take the role of the witness to the Vizconde massacre that she could not produce?" the SC asked. Lies and inconsistencies On June 30, 1991, Estrellita Vizconde and her daughters, Carmela and Jennifer, were murdered inside their home in Paranaque. Four years later, in 1995, Jessica Alfaro surfaced, claiming she had direct knowledge about the crime and the suspects. However, former NBI personnel Artemio Sacaguing, said Alfaro only volunteered to play out the role of the eyewitness as she could not produce the actual witness to the Vizconde killings. "Since Alfaro hanged out at the NBI offices and practically lived there, it was not too difficult for her to hear of these evidentiary details and gain access to the documents," the SC said. "Her story lacks sense or suffers from incoherent inconsistencies. An understanding of the nature of things and the common behavior of people will help expose a lie. And it has an abundant presence in this case. The high court offers a more scathing criticism: "She was, at the time she revealed her story, working for the NBI as an "asset,' a stool pigeon, one who earned her living by fraternizing with criminals so she could squeal on them to her NBI handlers. She had to live a life of lies to get rewards that would pay for her subsistence and vices." The SC then criticized the NBI for making Alfaro appear credible when they claimed they solved the massacre and unmasked the Vizconde family's killers. "They gave her all the preparations she needed for the job of becoming a fairly good substitute witness. She was their 'darling' of an asset. And this is not pure speculation. As pointed out above, Sacaguing of the NBI, a lawyer and a ranking official, confirmed this to be a cold fact," said the high tribunal. The SC also criticized the Paranaque court and the Court of Appeals for failing to take note ofthe matter. "Why the trial court and the Court of Appeals failed to see this is mystifying?" the SC asked. Webb's alibi and denial The high court also castigated the Paranaque court and the CA for giving weight to Alfaro's "positive identification" of the suspects, saying even a lying witness can identify an accused "without blinking an eye." "The positive identification of the offender must come from a credible witness," said the SC. The SC instead lent credence to Webb's denial and alibi that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991 to October 26, 1992. The Vizconde killings happened on June 30, 1991. Webb had presented travel and immigration documents to show proof he was abroad at the time of the massacre. In its decision, the SC noted that the Paranaque court and the Court of Appeals found Webb's denial and alibi weak. "Their (Paranaque court and CA's] reason is uniform: Webb's alibi cannot stand against Alfaro's positive identification of him as the rapist and killer of Carmela, and apparently, the killer as well of her mother and younger sister. Because of this, to the lower courts, Webb's denial and alibi were fabricated," said the SC. However, the high court held that "not all denials and alibis should be regarded as fabricated." "Indeed, if the accused is truly innocent, he can have no other defense but denial and alibi. So how can such accused penetrate a mind that has been made cynical by the rule drilled into his head that a defense of alibi is a hangman's noose in the face of a witness positively swearing, 'I saw him do it,'" said the SC. The ruling reverses the findings of the Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274, which convicted Webb and eight others, and the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the local court's decision. Acquitted convicts The SC's decision acquitted Webb and six of his co-accused, namely: Antonio Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Hospicio Fernandez, Peter Estrada, and former policeman Gerardo Biong. While nine people may have been accused in the case, the court only took action on seven of them. Two others, Artemio Ventura and Joey Filart, remain at large to this day. Associate Justice Roberto Abad penned the Supreme Court decision. Those who concurred with him were Associate Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza and Maria Lourdes Serrano. Those who dissented were Chief Justice Renato Corona and Associate Justices Martin Villarama, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, and Arturo Brion. Four magistrates did not take part. They are: Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, who testified when the case was still being heard by the Paranaque court; Mariano del Castillo, whose wife worked for a law firm that was part of the defense panel; Presbitero Velasco, who is distant relative of Webb's mother; and Eduardo Nachura, who was Solicitor General, or government lawyer, during the pendency of the case. Dissenting opinion: Alfaro is credible But in a dissenting opinion, Villarama said Alfaro's testimony would not crumble under the scrutiny of the courts. "Both the RTC and the CA found the eyewitness testimony of Alfaro credible and competent proof that appellants Webb, Lejano, Gatchalian, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Estrada were at the scene of the crime and that Webb raped Carmela as the bloodied bodies of her mother and sister lay on top of the bed insidethe master's bedroom...," said Villarama. He noted that Alfaro's testimony does not stand alone and are, in fact, corroborated in its material points by witnesses NBI Dr. Prospero Cabanayan, security guards Normal White and Justo Cabanacan, and laundrywoman Mila Gaviola. "[The accused's] presence at the scene of the crime before, during, and after its commission was duly established. Their respective participation, acts, and declarations were likewise detailed by Alfaro who was shown to be a credible witness," Villarama added. Villarama also said Webb's alibi and defense is not valid because during the time he claimed he was in the United States, he could return to the Philippines and travel back to the US. "Given the financial resources and political influence of his family, it was not unlikely that Webb could have traveled back to the Philippines before June 29-30, 1991 then departed to the US again, and returning to the Philippines in October 1992," he said. – VVP, GMANews.TV