Title
Lejano vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 176389
Decision Date
Dec 14, 2010
Vizconde massacre: Key witness's credibility doubted; Webb's alibi accepted. Accused acquitted due to reasonable doubt.
criminal law
evidence
due process
A

Case Digest (G.R. No. 176389)

Facts:

  • Background of the crime and investigation
  • Estrellita Vizconde and her daughters Carmela (nineteen years old) and Jennifer (seven years old) were brutally slain at their home in Paranaque City on June 30, 1991.
  • Police investigation led to the arrest of a group of suspects, some of whom gave detailed confessions.
  • The trial court ordered the discharge of the arrested suspects after finding signs of a frame-up, leaving the identities of the real perpetrators unknown to the public.
  • Four years later, in 1995, the NBI announced that it had solved the crime.
  • The NBI presented Jessica M. Alfaro, one of its informers/assets, as its star witness.
  • Alfaro claimed she witnessed the crime and identified accused persons as culprits, including:
1) Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb 2) Antonio "Tony Boy" Lejano 3) Artemio "Dong" Ventura 4) Michael A. Gatchalian 5) Hospicio "Pyke" Fernandez 6) Peter Estrada 7) Miguel "Ging" Rodriguez 8) Joey Filart
  • Alfaro also tagged accused police officer Gerardo Biong as an accessory after the fact.
  • Filing of information and trial proceedings
  • On August 10, 1995, public prosecutors filed an information for rape with homicide against Webb et al.
  • The Regional Trial Court of Paranaque City, Branch 274, presided by Judge Amelita G. Tolentino, tried only seven accused because:
1) Artemio Ventura and 2) Joey Filart remained at large.
  • The prosecution presented Alfaro as the main witness, supported by corroborating witnesses and physical/medical evidence:
1) the medico-legal officer who autopsied the bodies, 2) the security guards of Pitong Daan Subdivision, 3) the former laundrywoman of the Webb household, 4) a police officer’s former girlfriend, 5) and Lauro G. Vizconde (Estrellita’s husband).
  • Some accused denied involvement and claimed they were elsewhere when the crime occurred.
  • Webb’s alibi was claimed to be strongest because he asserted he was in the United States of America at the relevant time.
  • The defense also presented evidence aiming to impeach Alfaro by attacking her reputation for truth and asserting the incredible nature of her testimony.
  • The trial court found Alfaro credible, relying on:
1) her categorical, straightforward, spontaneous, and frank testimony, 2) consistency despite grueling cross-examinations, 3) her explanations for discrepancies between her April 28 and May 22, 1995 affidavits (including her claimed desire to protect her former boyfriend Estrada and a relative Gatchalian; her claimed lack of lawyer during the first statement; distrust of the first investigators; and uncertainty about support/security if she disclosed all she knew).
  • The trial court discounted the accused’s denials and alibis as insufficient against Alfaro’s account and its perceived corroboration.
  • Trial court judgment and damages
  • After lengthy hearings, the trial court rendered judgment on January 4, 2000.
  • It found all accused guilty and imposed penalties:
1) Webb, Lejano, Gatchalian, Fernandez, Estrada, and Rodriguez: reclusion perpetua 2) Biong: an indeterminate prison term of eleven (11) years, four (4) months, and one (1) day to twelve (12) years
  • The trial court also awarded damages to Lauro Vizconde.
  • Court of Appeals disposition
  • On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision but modified:
1) It reduced Biong’s penalty to six (6) years minimum to twelve (12) years maximum. 2) It increased the award of damages to Lauro Vizconde.
  • The appellate court rejected allegations that:
1) the accused were tried by publicity, and 2) the trial judge was biased.
  • The appellate court found sufficient evidence of conspiracy making Rodriguez, Gatchalian, Fernandez, and Estrada equally guilty, based on participation in the rape and killing of Carmela and in the killing of her mother and sister.
  • A motion for reconsideration by the accused was denied by the Court of Appeals Special Division, voting three against two.
  • Supreme Court proceedings and DNA-related events
  • After initial deliberations, the Supreme Court issued a Resolution dated April 20, 2010 granting Webb’s request for DNA analysis of a semen specimen taken from Carmela’s cadaver, said specimen being believed under NBI safekeeping.
  • The grant was made pursuant to Section 4 of the Rule on DNA Evidence to allow parties access to scientific evidence that might affect the decision.
  • On April 27, 2010, the NBI informed the Court that it no longer had custody of the semen specimen, having been turned over to the trial court.
  • The trial record, however, did not show that the specimen was among the object evidence offered in the case.
  • This prompted Webb to file an urgent motion to acquit based on deprivation of due process due to failure to preserve vital evidence.
  • Contentions on criminal liability and evidentiary sufficiency
  • The core factual issue presented by the accused was whether the accused, acting in conspiracy, raped and killed Carmela and killed her mother and sister.
  • Controlling evidentiary issues were raised as:
1) credibility of Alfaro’s eyewitness identification and narration, and 2) whether Webb proved his alibi and rebutted Alfaro’s account sufficiently.
  • For Biong, the issue was whether his acts occurred after commission of the crime to cover up or conceal it, thereby making him criminally liable as accessory after the fact.
  • Additional factual matters raised in the record included:
1) Alfaro’s claimed status as an NBI asset, 2) inconsistencies in Alfaro’s affidavits, 3) alleged weaknesses in prosecution corroborations, 4) alleged absence of corroboration for the claimed romantic relationship and male companion that allegedly motivated the attack, 5) Webb’s extensive travel and immigration documents to support alibi, 6) attack on the prosecution’s ability to preserve DNA-related evidence.
  • Extrajudicial and alleged investigative circumstances bearing on Alfaro’s testimony (as narrated in the text)
  • Former NBI head Atty. Artemio Sacaguing testified on Alfaro’s role as an NBI asset/informer, including “very special treatment,” and that she was eventually piqued when not producing “projects” for which s...(Subscriber-Only)

Issues:

  • Threshold issue on due process and acquittal
  • Whether Webb was entitled to outright acquittal because the State failed to preserve and produce the semen specimen for DNA analysis, thus allegedly depriving him of evidence necessary to prove innocence.
  • Whether the failure to produce the specimen constituted a due process violation in light of Brady v. Maryland and Arizona v. Youngblood, and whether bad faith was required.
  • Substantive issues on guilt
  • Whether Alfaro’s testimony, as eyewitness identification and narrative, was entitled to belief:
1) given alleged inconsistencies, 2) given alleged motives and credibility concerns, 3) despite claimed corroborations by other witnesses and physical/medical evidence.
  • Whether Webb presented sufficient proof to establish his alibi and rebut Alfaro’s testimony.
  • Whether the accused acted in conspiracy to commit:
1) rape ...(Subscriber-Only)

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)
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