New Vizconde massacre witness is 'Ms. X'

MANILA, Philippines -  Lauro Vizconde’s hope in getting justice for the murder of his wife and their two daughters in 1991 was rekindled after he had a closed-door meeting with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday afternoon.

He said the new witness who passed the lie detector test is “Ms. X,” a woman who told Australian authorities in her application for protection visa that her ex-husband and his buddies from a drug ring who were “sons of politicians” and have powerful connections were “involved in the Vizconde massacre.”

The STAR exclusively reported last March the claim of “Ms. X” based on the findings of Christian Faust, a veteran criminologist from Australia with over 30 years of experience in investigating high-profile crimes worldwide.

Vizconde said a few other witnesses will undergo polygraph testing. He said De Lima assured him the reinvestigation is nearing its conclusion. “They’re doing their best to find out the truth in this case,” he told reporters after the meeting.

Vizconde, according to his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, “trusts the DOJ and will accept fully results” of the reinvestigation. “For him, what’s important is the closure he could get from it,” he said.

Topacio said De Lima is optimistic that investigators will beat the 20-year prescription period for the filing of new charges, which will lapse on June 29.