DOJ orders convict released in Vizconde case, but not Hubert

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday said she has approved the Bureau of Corrections' recommendation to release one of those convicted in 2000 for the high-profile Vizconde massacre case 19 years ago. De Lima confirmed the imminent release of Gerardo Biong, who was convicted for being an accessory to the gruesome murders of Estrellita, Carmella, and Jennifer Vizconde in June 1991. "Based on the records, he (Biong) had served [his] sentence already," said De Lima in a text message to GMANews.TV. In a phone interview, Biong's lawyer, Jose Flaminiano, said he cannot yet confirm the exact date of Biong's release. "I do not know if he is already released," he said. Biong is detained at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. In January 2000, the Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 sentenced the following to life imprisonment: Hubert Webb, Peter Estrada, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Antonio Lejano II and Miguel Rodriguez. Biong, a former Parañaque policeman, was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 6 years and one day to a maximum of 12 years of imprisonment for being an accessory to the crime when he destroyed evidence. Biong has been detained since Sept. 6, 1995. The trial court also convicted a certain Artemio Ventura and Joey Filart, but they remain at large to this day. The Court of Appeals has upheld the lower court's ruling in December 2005. Webb had appealed these decisions to the Supreme Court, which is set to release its decision soon. On Friday, Lauro Vizconde, who lost his wife and two daughters to the murders, said a Supreme Court justice was lobbying for Webb's acquittal. But the Webb family had denied pulling strings in the court. Court spokesman and administrator Jose Midas Marquez said Vizconde's allegations were merely "hearsay." — RSJ, GMANews.TV