Lauro Vizconde clings to happy memories 20 years after massacre

Two decades after his wife and two daughters were massacred inside their home in Parañaque City, Lauro Vizconde continues to cling to happy memories to drive the misery away. Mr. Vizconde offered prayers and three dozens of roses in front of the graves of wife Estrelita and daughters Carmela and Jennifer at a cemetery in Quezon City on Thursday morning in remembrance of his loved ones' 20th death anniversary.
“I have to remember our happy moments when they were still alive and we were still together. Iyan ay pamamaraan ko para, at least, hindi naman ako malungkot bawat oras at panahon," he said in an interview aired over GMA News TV’s "News To Go." A Mass will also be held at the Vizconde residence to commemorate the death of the three family members. While on this day the 20-year “prescription period" for filing of charges against the perpetrators of the crime lapsed, Mr. Vizconde said he will still continue searching for the truth behind the killing of his family. Mr. Vizconde also said he is eager to talk with the new witnesses who supposedly could prove that acquitted suspect Hubert Webb was in the country when the crime took place in 1991. “Inaasahan ko na sa mga darating na araw, paghaharapin na kami ng mga bagong testigo… May mga ilang tanong ako na gusto kong masagot nila," he said. Article 89 of the Revised Penal Code identifies the lapsing of the 20-year “prescription period" as one of the ways how liability for a crime is “totally extinguished" No public apology For his part, Webb maintained his innocence, saying he will never apologize to Mr. Vizconde for the massacre. “Bakit kami magbibigay ng public apology sa kanya? Siya [Vizconde] dapat ang mag-public apology sa amin… Maling direksyon ang tinitingnan niya," he said in a separate interview. The Webb family earlier appealed to Mr. Vizconde and officials from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice to stop accusing Hubert of involvement in the killings. The Webb camp even threatened to file a disbarment case against Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for "subversion of the rule of law" by questioning the Supreme Court's decision to acquit Hubert and six others accused of the crime. Last December, the Supreme Court reversed two lower court rulings and acquitted Webb in the Vizconde massacre due to “the failure of the prosecution to rule their guilt beyond reasonable doubt." The DOJ launched a reinvestigation of the Vizconde massacre case after the acquittal, following an order from President Benigno Aquino III. Last Tuesday, the NBI presented new evidence and testimonies supposedly proving that Webb was in the country when the massacre happened. De Lima however admitted that they have no proof that Webb and his group actually committed the crime. — LBG/KBK, GMA News