The topic of discussions in the recent days is the Supreme Court acquittal of Hubert Webb and his five co-accused in the grisly Vizconde murders of June 30, 1991. At the annual meeting of the board of directors of the Institute of Social Studies and Action of which I am a member, the president, Fred Tadiar, and the chairman, Froilan Bacungan, both respected legal luminaries, clarified that the High Tribunal did not declare that the six were innocent, but ruled that the prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence to prove guilt “beyond reasonable doubt.” I had made the mistake of expressing in my last column that these men had been proven innocent, prompting a reader to email me, “Madam, you wrote and spoke too soon. The SC through its spokesperson Midas Marquez said acquittal is not the same as innocence.”
Other distinguished personages have expressed the same view. Constitutional expert Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, SJ, came out with an enigmatic conclusion. He wrote in his column that after reading the ponencia and concurring opinion of justices, he was convinced the guilt of Hubert Webb was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Supporting evidence – Hubert’s having been in the US during the occurrence of the crime, foreign airlines and Philippine and US immigration records to support his claim – “are not easily manufactured or bought.” If he were the judge, how would he vote on the case? The Jesuit’s answer: “My instinct is to say that I would rather have a guilty person go free than to have an innocent person suffer life imprisonment, especially if that person has already spent 15 years of his youth in detention.”
It was decisive of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa to order the Justice Department to reinvestigate the Vizconde massacre case and solve it within six months, which ends the Vizconde massacre 20-year prescription period. We know that behind the mild mannered Little President there has always been a tough mind and a robust heart. He thus best represents the President’s own view of the entire case, who has rightly sensed the public’s confusion and unease about who the real killers are, after the High Court handed a no guilty verdict on Webb, et al.
Notable for its defense of human and women’s rights, the militant women’s group Gabriela lambasts the handling of the Vizconde massacre as exemplifying the “failure of the country’s justice system.” It is obvious Gabriela does not agree with the SC decision.
“We are deeply outraged at how inept the system is in delivering justice to the Vizconde family. How, from the start, the police bungled the investigation, that even one of their own was accused of complicity, thus casting doubt on the results. The victims’ remaining family agonizingly waited for almost 20 years, only for the Supreme Court to rule that the suspects apprehended can walk free,” said Joms Salvador, Gabriela deputy secretary general.
“The authorities’ ineptitude is unforgivable. This epic failure of the Philippine justice system and its law enforcement agencies to give justice 20 years after the violence done against Carmela, Estrellita and Jennifer is a crime itself against the Vizconde family. It is also a backlash to Filipino women’s pursuit for justice for victims of rape and other forms of violence against women (VAW),” added Salvador.
“We fear for the repercussions on other victims of VAW. That even a high profile case such as the Vizconde Massacre goes back to square one after 20 years of investigation and trial can discourage other victims to complain and seek redress,” stated Salvador.
Gabriela calls for a reinvestigation of the case and enjoins the public “to remain vigilant until justice is fully attained.”
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has started the move to reopen the case. She said that even with the SC decision, she does not think the case can be called “a real closure.” The Secretary was quoted by the Philippine STAR reporter, as saying, “It may be a closure in the legal sense, but factually and for the sake of truth – we still have to find out (who the perpetrators were). This is a sensational, high-profile case that should be accorded a proper closure.”
She is calling for an intensified hunt for two other accused who have remained in hiding since Webb et al. were convicted of rape with homicide by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 in January 2000. The Department of Justice was set to meet yesterday with both the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police re the reinvestigation of the case.
How the reinvestigation will prosper is a big question. PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said in an interview that the special investigation task group he created specifically for the case did not have available evidence on hand and will rely solely on the records of NBI.
We wait with bated breath the result of the reinvestigation.
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From another front, Nandy Pacheco, in the spirit of Advent, is inviting people to be part of the “Mga Tagatulak ng Kapayapaan (Peace Movers)” to push the People’s Struggle for Peace (PSP).
PSP, says Nandy, aims to save human life and promote Christ’s peace based on love, justice, reconciliation, active nonviolence and progressive disarmament through nationwide free distribution of stickers with this message: “Kung Walang Baril Di Tayo Mababaril.” (Without guns, we won’t be gunned down.)
“The Mga Tagatulak ng Kapayapaan, not being an organization or movement, has no officers; it is a group of believers from all walks of life “who practice and spread Christ’s peace – not the peace that the gun gives,” says Nandy. Nor does PSP involve marching on the streets, disrupting daily activities and causing traffic congestion.
PSP’s activity is simply putting stickers on cars and other forms of transport, in houses, churches, schools, offices, restaurants, hospitals, and private buildings. Institutions are enjoined to promote the stickers and its message through print and electronic media, radio, TV, newsletters and other means of communication.
Peace and order, says Nandy, is “a precondition to sustainable development. No society can prosper in an atmosphere where public safety is in question. And under such conditions the poor suffer most.”
PSP is a demonstration of support for the passage of the Citizen Protection Act of 2010 pending in Congress, which is essentially the same as the Comelec gun ban in public places but with stiff penalties for violations.
Donors to print the stickers may make their checks payable to The House Printer Corporation and send them to Jose B. Pilar, Isa sa Mga Tagatulak ng Kapayapaan. He can be reached at 0920-962-4873 or 633-7601. Offers to print the sticker for free (same format and color combination) are welcome.
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My email: dominimt2000@yahoo.com