Palace orders reinvestigation of Vizconde massacre

After saying that the government is duty-bound to find the perpetrators of the crime, Malacañang ordered various government departments and agencies to reinvestigate the 1991 Vizconde massacre. Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa Jr. stated the order in a memorandum issued to Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Philippine National Police Chief Raul Bacalzo, and National Bureau of Investigation Director Magtanggol Gatdula. The memorandum, issued on December 16, ordered the concerned government agencies to "conduct a thorough investigation of the case, utilizing all available resources at your disposal to finally solve the same with the end-in-view of apprehending and prosecuting the authors of the crime." Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte had earlier said the Palace supports a reinvestigation of the case as "every case which remains unsolved should be pursued so that the perpetrators will be brought to justice." Ochoa tasked De Lima to evaluate the possibility of compensating those "who may have been wrongfully accused" of the crime after the Supreme Court acquitted seven persons, including Hubert Webb, a former senator's son. Prescription period Ochoa also reminded the officials about the prescriptive period — 20 years for the Vizconde massacre — within which the case may be filed. The Revised Penal Code (RPC) dictates that crimes like the Vizconde massacre carry a "prescription period" of 20 years. A prescription period sets the limit for filing charges from the time that the crime occurred. "Crimes punishable by reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment) shall prescribe in 20 years," says Article 90 of the RPC. The Vizconde massacre occurred on June 30, 1991. The prescription period will thus end in a little over six months. Vizconde massacre Estrellita, Carmela, and Jennifer Vizconde were murdered in their Paranaque home on June 30, 1991. However, it was only in 1995 when the government filed charges against Hubert Webb, Antonio Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Hospicio Fernandez, Peter Estrada, former policeman Gerardo Biong, Artemio Ventura, and Joey Filart. Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino tried the case and eventually convicted seven of them in January 2000. The trial court had no decision on Ventura and Filart because they went into hiding and were never arragined. Te explained that an accused must first be arraigned before he can be prosecuted. Webb later sought redress from the Court of Appeals, but the appellate court sustained the guilty verdict against the seven. In 2007, Webb elevated the matter to the Supreme Court and asked for a review of the rulings of the Paranaque court and the CA. On Tuesday, the SC reversed the two lower courts' findings and acquitted Webb and his six co-accused. Aside from Webb, those acquitted on December 14 were: