THE interagency task force tasked to reinvestigate the gruesome Vizconde killings on Tuesday insisted that Hubert Webb, who was earlier acquitted by the Supreme Court as principal-accused, was in the country when the crime took place in 1991.

At a press briefing, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that testimonies of new witnesses showed that Webb was in the country when the murders occurred, contrary to his claim that he was in the United States.

Despite these findings, de Lima admitted that the Department of Justice is already barred from filing criminal charges against Webb because of the principle of double jeopardy.

“Of course, despite these breakthroughs, we can no longer file criminal charges against Webb because the Supreme Court had already ruled the finality of his acquittal [from the Vizconde case],” she explained.

 “He [Webb] could not anymore be tagged for the same crime because of the principle of double jeopardy,” she added.

Lauro Vizconde, widower of the murdered Estrellita, and father of their two daughters Carmela and Jennifer, welcomed the findings of the task force, saying it only shows that Webb was lying all along.

“It is not yet over, this is just a consolation,” Vizconde said.

Reacting to the findings of the task force, SC Court Administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez stressed that the prosecution had been given sufficient time to produce their evidence.

Marquez said that as far as the Court is concerned, the ruling acquitting Webb and his coaccused is already final.

On December 14, 2010, the SC reversed the convictions of Webb and his six coaccused, saying that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The Court added that the prosecution failed to produce evidence that would counter Webb’s claim that he was in the US when the massacre took place.

The government has only until June 30 this year to file charges against the new suspects because of the 20-year prescriptive period for cases punishable by life imprisonment as provided for under the Revised Penal Code.

Members of the joint task force composed of the DOJ, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) presented to members of the media the supposed testimonial and documentary evidence they claimed would counter Webb’s alibi.

Besides the testimonies of new witnesses that Webb was in the country, the NBI, through IBM Philippines and with the assistance of experts from the National Computer Center, conducted a forensic examination on the nine-track magnetic reel tapes of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The magnetic-reel tapes were used by the BI from 1990 to 1992 to store data of departing and arriving passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and was used for monitoring and intelligence purposes of the BI.

“These magnetic-reel tapes contain all travel data of persons who departed and arrived in the country, specifically in March 1991,” he explained.

Based on their examination of the magnetic reel tapes, there was no Jeffrey P. Webb who left the country in March 1991.

“It would be safe, therefore, to assume that Hubert Jeffrey Webb never departed from the Philippines in the month of March 1991, specifically on the 9th day thereof,” the task force said.

“This is not speculation but the product of a technical piece of evidence contained in a magnetic-reel tape officially used by a law-enforcement agency like the Bureau of Immigration [BI].

“These findings, together with the sworn statement of seven witnesses, categorically stating that they saw Hubert Webb in Parañaque on several instances in April and May 1991 and even in June 1991 and after the Vizconde massacre transpired, indubitably destroy Webb’s alibi defense,” it added.

 On the other hand, the PNP-CIDG, through Senior Supt. Joel Coronel, disclosed that they are eyeing two new suspects to be indicted in the lower court based on the tip they received from their informants.

They were brothers Eduardo “Dong” Villadolid and Rommel “Bing” Villadolid, who are both in the United States.

The Villadolid brothers were mentioned by a certain Rhoda Pujanes, alias Dang, who claimed she overheard Villadolid and his friends, including Miguel Rodriguez and Michael Gatchalian, talking about the massacre during a pot session in 1991.

Rodriguez and Gatchalian were also exonerated by the SC as Webb’s coaccused in the Vizconde massacre case.

Other suspects, Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura, have yet to be arrested and arraigned for the crime.

Webb’s lawyer, Demetrio Custodio, questioned the sudden appearance of new witnesses against his client, saying it took them 20 years before coming out with their stories.

“Even I can’t remember. The accuracy of their testimonies is very suspect,” he added.