Webb camp asks SC to discredit testimony of Vizconde star witness
The camp of convict Hubert Webb on Wednesday filed before the Supreme Court (SC) a supplemental motion to discredit Jessica Alfaro, the star witness in the brutal killing of three members of the Vizconde family. In a 70-page supplement to the urgent motion for Webbâs acquittal, the defense camp said the SC should dismiss Alfaro as a âbogus eyewitness." The Webb camp added that the SC should not admit Alfaroâs testimonies. âWe feel that Alfaroâs statements are the foundation and linchpin of the prosecutionâs evidence. If we are able to demolish that, the prosecutionâs case has no legs to stand on," Zenaida Acorda, one of Webbâs lawyers, told GMANews.TV in an interview on Wednesday. In the motion to discredit Alfaro, Webbâs camp cited the testimony of Artemio Sacaguing, who earlier said Alfaro was only an informant of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who volunteered to play the role of an eyewitness in the Vizconde massacre. Sacaguing was the former chief of the NBI Anti-Kidnapping, Arson and Armed Robbery Unit. âAlfaro is a bogus eyewitness. And the NBI, which filed the criminal charges against Hubert Webb and his co-accused, knew this," the motion read. In 1991, Estrellita Vizconde and her daughters Carmela and Jennifer were brutally killed inside their house in Parañaque City. Four years later, Alfaro surfaced and claimed Webb raped Carmela before murdering her. Webb, son of former Senator Freddie Webb, was sentenced to life imprisonment along with five of his co-accused in January 2000, a ruling that was affirmed by the Court of Appeals in December 2005. In 2007, Webb appealed the two rulings before the Supreme Court. âHabitual liarâ The defense panel likewise argued that Alfaroâs testimonies should not be admitted because the star witness supposedly lied under oath several times in the past. The panel added that Alfaro even allegedly filed two contradictory affidavits. âShould the testimony of a witness who lied several times under oath be believed and given credence? And shouldnât there be reasonable doubt as to whether the alleged eyewitness testimony of this habitual liar and perjurer is true?" the defense camp said in the motion. Acorda likewise said that the high court should give more weight on the defense campâs âsolid" documentary evidence, such as certifications from United States officials, proving that Webb was out of the country at the night of the incident instead of Alfaroâs âbogus" statements. âThere is a legal principle which says that documentary evidence should be given more weight that testimonial evidence, since these testimonies can be easily concocted. We hope that the Supreme Court takes this into account," she said. â VVP/MRT, GMANews.TV