ShareThisMANILA — Despite the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that Hubert Jeffrey Webb was in the Philippines when the Vizconde massacre was committed,they can no longer push for his (Webb’s) prosecution after he and his group have been acquitted by the Supreme Court (SC).
This was stressed by Justice SEcretary Leila de Lima during a press conference on Tuesday.
The SC acquitted Webb and six other accused on Dec. 14, 2010 due to the failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
It ruled that the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro was full of inherent inconsistencies.
Following the acquittal of Webb and his group, President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III issued an Executive Order on Dec. 16, 2010 creating the Inter-Agency Task Force composed of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the NBI mandated to conduct a reinvestigation and find out the truth behind the Vizconde massacre.
De Lima said in a press conference on Tuesday at the NBI that despite the findings of the NBI, still they cannot place Webb and his group at the scene of the crime.
“There is no credible evidence that would place him (Webb) at the scene of the crime,” De Lima said.
The 20-year “prescriptive period” in the Vizconde massacre case will end on June 30, 2011.
“He (Webb) can also no longer be charged because of the principle of double jeopardy,” she added.
The principle of double jeopardy as provided for by the 1987 Philippine Constitution shields one from a second or later prosecution for the same offense.
Article III, Section 21 of the Constitution states that no person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense, providing further that if an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.
De Lima said that the purpose of the reinvestigation is to “ferret out the truth.”
The supposed witness “Black Maria” who was believed to be an eyewitness said that while she knew Webb and co-accused who was also acquitted Tony Boy Lejano, she has no knowledge of the massacre.
However, De Lima said that they can still run after Joey Filart and Artemio “Dong” Ventura who were among the co-accused of Webb’s group but were never arraigned or tried because they have escaped.
”Another group of suspects, a certain Eduardo and brother Rommel Villadolid are still being pursued,” De Lima said.
“They can still be brought to court,” De Lima said.