MANILA, Philippines - The 7 magistrates who acquitted Hubert Webb and 6 others (including police officer Gerardo Biong) in the Vizconde massacre case are experts in threshing out the reliability of evidence, having taught the subject in law schools.
Lauro Vizconde, whose wife and 2 daughters were killed, was shocked with the news over the Supreme Court’s decision acquitting the suspects over faulty evidence and testimonies.
Lauro Vizconde said on Tuesday it was as if his family died a second time because of the decision.
He reiterated that someone from the SC worked to have the decision of the lower courts overturned.
In a phone interview, SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said “he has to prove his allegations. I know for a fact that the respective magistrates had their appreciation of evidence.”
Associate Justice Roberto Abad wrote the decision. The other concurring magistrates are: Associate Justices Conchita Carpio Morales, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza and Maria Lourdes Serrano.
The 7 taught the subject of evidence in law school. Evidence is a subject under Remedial Law.
Asked why the high court, not a trier of facts, overturned the factual findings of the lower courts, Marquez said: “The findings of the lower courts are given great weight but the SC can also look at the testimonies and other pieces of evidence.”
In this particular case, the majority noted that the testimonies of witnesses, in particular former NBI agent and confessed drug addict Jessica Alfaro, were replete with inconsistencies.
He said there have been a lot of incidents in the past where the high court overturned findings of lower courts in criminal cases.
Marquez debunked allegations that the high court issued a verdict on the Vizconde massacre case to temper public scrutiny over an earlier decision nullifying the Truth Commission.
“A lot of legal experts had also favored the decision (Truth Commission)…There is nothing to cover,” he said.
The high court was supposed to release the Vizconde case decision next year.
He said there was just one justice who was able to finish early an opinion on the matter, despite having asked for a 2 to 3 weeks submission.
By Ira Pedrasa,
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