DOJ may order NBI to reinvestigate Vizconde massacre case

(Updated 1:53 p.m.) There are "very, very high" chances that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima may order the National Bureau of Investigation to find, once again, the perpetrators behind the gruesome killing of three members of the Vizconde family in 1991. In an interview, De Lima said she will meet with NBI director Magatanggol Gatdula and his personnel to discuss the prospects of having a reinvestigation. "I have to discuss it with them. I want to know what happened before.... I want to know how they handled the evidence. I will discuss with Director Gatdula because we are aware of Mr. Lauro Vizconde's call for a reinvestigation," De Lima told reporters. "I am very inclined [to order a reinvestigation]," she added. De Lima said while the Supreme Court may have acquitted Hubert Webb and his six co-accused, it does not necessarily indicate a "closure" to the gruesome murders of Estrellita Vizconde and her daughters, Carmela and Jennifer, in June 1991. "Even if there's a Supreme Court decision, I don't think anybody can call it a real closure. It may be a closure in the legal sense, but factually, for the sake of truth, we need to know [what happened," said De Lima. Challenges Last Tuesday, the SC acquitted Hubert Webb, Antonio Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Hospicio Fernandez, Peter Estrada and Miguel Rodriguez and former policeman Gerardo Biong. While nine people may have been accused in the case, the court only took action on seven of them. This is because the two others — Artemio Ventura and Joey Filart — remain at large to this day. On Wednesday, De Lima said she is aware of the challenges the government may face in conducting another fact-finding investigation. "Whatever evidence there are, or whatever evidence there have been, would have gone cold already," she said. The Justice chief likewise said that an additional challenge is tracking down Ventura and Filart, who remain fugitives from justice. "How come all these years, walang nag-effort to track them down? One more thing, why are they still in hiding? Flight is indicative of guilt, as legal principles say. Maybe the truth are with the two other accused who are still at large," she said. De Lima likewise said the NBI may also seek so-called star witness Jessica Alfaro, even as majority of the Supreme Court justices doubted her credibility as the key witness to the Vizconde murders. De Lima said Alfaro, whose whereabouts remain unknown, may still provide information that may lead to the real perpetrators. "Any players can help us out," De Lima said. Double jeopardy In handing down the acquittal of Webb and the six others last Tuesday, the Supreme Court barred aggrieved parties from seeking a reversal of the ruling. This is because the double jeopardy principle prevents a person from being tried twice for the same crime. If an aggrieved party will ask the SC to reverse its ruling, it will be tantamount to asking for another litigation. In light with this, De Lima said that should NBI conduct a reinvestigation, it will still be "within the bounds of law." — RSJ, GMANews.TV