MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) does not have the semen taken from the body of Carmela Vizconde.
In a manifestation with the Supreme Court, NBI deputy director for technical services Reynaldo Esmeralda said the specimen was turned over to the Parañaque Regional Trial Court (RTC) during the trial of the case in 1996.
“The desired semen /vaginal smear taken from the cadaver of Carmela Vizconde (including the original documents and photographs) is no longer in the custody of the NBI,” read the manifestation.
Then NBI medico-legal chief Prospero Cabanayan submitted to the Parañaque RTC Branch 274 the three slides of specimen samples when he testified in court in January and February 1996, the NBI said.
Midas Marquez, court administrator and SC spokesman, said the NBI’s manifestation will be submitted to the tribunal for action.
“We shall wait for the next action of the court,” he said.
The NBI reported to the SC that microscopic examination of the specimen showed the presence of human sperm.
“As part of the standard operating procedure, fluid was taken from the vagina of Carmela Vizconde for purpose of semenology,” read the NBI report.
“At that time, year 1991, the NBI was not thinking about DNA. The first time the NBI acquired DNA (equipment) was in 1996.”
NBI medico-legal chief Dr. Florencio Arizala said Cabanayan air dried the specimen on three glass slides and turned them over to the RTC.
“While semenology is almost a perfect science, still in sperm pooling, we cannot determine how many different sperms there are in the semenology,” he said.
“We can only differentiate human spermatozoa from that of an animal. But with the DNA testing, it can be established how many different sperms and who may own these.”
Esmeralda said he cannot give a categorical answer whether the semen would remain intact and uncontaminated after 19 years of storage.
“We cannot speculate,” he said. “But as far as the NBI is concerned, it was properly turned over, and these are placed in three glass slides, and there was a cover slip.”
Last Friday, the SC ordered that the semen taken from Carmela be subjected to DNA test upon request of Hubert Webb, one of those convicted of the rape and killing of Carmela, and the killing her mother and eight-year-old sister.
The University of the Philippines Natural Science and Health Institute was tasked to conduct the DNA test in coordination with the NBI.