Plagiarism raps filed vs Vizconde case judge

MANILA, Philippines - Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Amelita Tolentino will be charged with plagiarizing the prosecution’s memorandum in her decision convicting Hubert Webb and five others 10 years ago for the 1991 rape and killing of Carmela Vizconde, and the murders of Estrellita and Jennifer Vizconde.

Retired Manila fiscal Jose Flaminiano, counsel for Hospicio Fernandez and former policeman Gerardo Biong, said several portions of Tolentino’s decision were lifted from the prosecution’s memorandum without any attribution.

Speaking over radio station dzBB, Flaminiano said the issue involves Tolentino’s qualification to hold her position as a CA justice.

Flaminiano said they will also charge Vizconde massacre star witness Jessica Alfaro with false testimony for pointing to Webb as the rapist and killer of Carmela.

It would be easier to go after Alfaro since she is out of the country and would not be able to file counter-charges.

However, Webb’s lawyers are not keen on filing charges against two housemaids and two security guards who also testified against him.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, lawyer Vitalano Aguirre said they believe the maids and security guards were pressured to testify.

On the other hand, Flaminiano said agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), as well as private and public prosecutors, will be included in their complaints.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court (SC) spokesman Jose Midas Marquez stood firm yesterday on his

statement that the SC did not declare innocent Webb and the others acquitted in the Vizconde massacre.

Reacting to criticism from the Webb family, Marquez said he based his statement on

existing jurisprudence, which provides that acquittal is different from declaration of innocence.

“I stand my ground,” he said.

“I can give 101 citations saying that. Their lawyers should know that.

“In the same way that there’s constitutional presumption of innocence of accused until proven guilty, there’s also jurisprudence saying acquittal is not innocence.”

Marquez also denied allegations that he was already interpreting the SC decision and expressing his opinion.

“It was a response to queries from the media,” he said. “It was jurisprudence I raised. And it’s not my personal opinion.

“I’ve been spokesman for the longest time and I am just doing my job.”

At the Department of Justice (DOJ), Secretary Leila de Lima is confident authorities will be able to end the reinvestigation of the Vizconde massacre case within six months before the 20-year prescriptive period sets in.

De Lima said an inter-agency task force led by the DOJ and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will conduct the new probe.

“The DOJ and DILG will lead, because the NBI is under the DOJ and the PNP (Philippine National Police) is under the DILG,” she said.

De Lima said former NBI directors Epimaco Velasco and Mariano Mison will be interviewed regarding the Vizconde case.

“Mison and Velasco have conflicting claims per their media pronouncements,” she said.

“So we are inviting them on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 2 p.m.”

De Lima said she has ordered the NBI to trace the whereabouts of Alfaro.

“She’s not anymore in the Philippines,” she said.

“But if we could access her and ask her to come back for further questioning. So we assigned already somebody to contact Jessica.”

She also ordered the inventory of evidence, including the missing semen sample taken from Carmela’s body, De Lima said. — With Edu Punay, Sandy Araneta