Vizconde to appeal Supreme Court order for DNA testing

MANILA, Philippines - Lauro Vizconde, whose wife and two daughters were killed 19 years ago, will ask the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its decision allowing the DNA test of semen taken from his daughter, Carmela, who was also raped.

The test was requested by Hubert Webb, one of those convicted of the rape and murders.

“My worry is the result will no longer be credible because of the long period of time of its storage,” Vizconde said.

“And we are worried that this will lead to the acquittal of Hubert Webb. We have to act now, we have to do something.”

Vizconde talked to reporters when he went to the SC to get a copy of the order.

“Way back in 1997, we already opposed the conduct of DNA test and it (motion) was already dismissed that time,” Vizconde.

“It is only now that the SC decided to proceed with the conduct of DNA analysis.”

The SC ordered the DNA test to speed up the final resolution of the case, according to SC spokesman Midas Marquez.

NBI to report to SC today

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is expected to report to the SC today on the results of its inventory of physical evidence in the 19-year-old case.

The report will determine the status of specimen necessary for the DNA test to be conducted by the UP Natural Science and Research Institute (UP-NSRI).

Lawyer Reynaldo Esmeralda, NBI deputy director for technical services, said they can finish the inventory today and turn the specimen over to the UP-NSRI.

“We also intend to file a report to the SC if we are able to turn it over to UP-NSRI by (today),” he said.

Esmeralda said the UP-NSRI has been tasked to conduct the DNA analysis on the semen from Carmela.

“Although we are capable of conducting the test, the SC directed the NBI to only assist the parties in facilitating the submission of said specimen to the UP-NSRI,” he said.

The UP-NSRI will determine in a separate report how long the DNA test would take before results can be submitted to the SC, Esmeralda said.