Vizconde Massacre - Result of The Reinvestigation

Result of The Reinvestigation

The Inter-Agency Task Force assigned to reinvestigate Vizconde massacre case formed 6 teams or 3 parallel teams to look into 3 sets of suspects linked to the murders. The 3 sets of suspects are: the Barroso Akyat-Bahay gang; the group of construction workers with engineer Danilo Agwas tagged as mastermind; SPO3 Angel Viaje, PO3 Rodolfo Colado, Ruben Pineda; and, the group of Hubert Webb.

On June 28, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Hubert Webb was in the Philippines when the murders took place. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991 to October 27, 1992. De Lima said the evidence that showed Webb and any of the co-accused were in the country came from the magnetic reel tape (MRT) of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) where all records of incoming and outgoing passengers from the Philippines are recorded. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the National Computer Center. “There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb,” De Lima said. She said the same MRT provided data that several Webbs arrived in the country, including Hubert, sometime in October 1992. “It is hard to believe this – there is a record of supposed arrival from other country but no record of departure in 1991 or in any month of 1991,” she said. De Lima also said seven new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country during the months of April, May and June 1991. According to De Lima, all the new witnesses passed the polygraph test. The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. Pitong, an electrician who since 1982, already knew the Webb family claimed he saw a laundry woman wash a bloodied t-shirt on the morning of the crime. He also claimed to have heard Hubert shout, “Putang ina nyo! Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito.”(Fuck you all! I would not have ended up like this if you had not neglected me). Three days after that, he was allegedly approached by Mrs. Webb who reportedly told him, “You did not see anything.” A week after, Sen. Freddie Webb allegedly told him, “You did not see anything. You will regret it.” Jack, a village security guard who kept records of the village where Webb lived said he saw Hubert Webb during the time of the massacre. George, a drug dealer, claimed he was introduced to Webb by former SPO1 Gerardo Biong sometime in April 1991 where the young Webb allegedly purchased from him 10 grams of shabu worth P10,000. He alleged that Webb bought illegal drugs from him on two other occasions in May 1991. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, “Do not cheat him. I will kill you,” brandishing a shiny revolver. Mario, a hair stylist during the period June 1991, testified that Webb, along with Tony Boy Lejano and Dong Ventura had their haircut. He said that he heard Hubert Webb quarrelling with another young looking customer. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes.

The findings alo point to another set of suspects, namely Dong Villadolid and his brother Bing. The Villadolid brothers were mentioned by a certain Rhoda Pujanes alias Dang, who claimed she overheard Villadolid and his friends, including Miguel Rodriguez and Michael Gatchalian(both co-accused of Webb), talking about the massacre during a pot session in 1991. Dang claimed to have heard Dong Villadolid shouting at the top of his voice, saying they had raped and killed a certain Maria(presumed to be Maria Carmela Vizconde) and other persons. She also said that Bing was accosting Ging Rodriguez on why he had to stab and kill a young girl. De Lima believed Dong Villadolid is the same person as Dong Ventura, one of the co-accused who fled to the US following the massacre. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. De Lima said they could still go after Filart and Ventura, as well as the Villadolid brothers, since the prescriptive period of 20 years for homicide does not apply to them because they were abroad. One team uncovered “Black Maria,” a woman whom one witness said had told him she was with Webb’s group inside the Vizconde home and saw the crime take place. “She admitted to knowing Webb and company but denied knowledge of the Vizconde massacre,” NBI Death Investigation Division head Romulo Asis said. De Lima said it was possible that it was Black Maria who was in the Vizconde home and not Jessica Alfaro, the NBI’s star witness during the trial.

Although Webb's group can no longer be retried because of double jeopardy, De Lima said the purpose of the reinvestigation was to “uncover the truth” and bring closure to Lauro Vizconde.