Vizconde marks 20th year of murders: Time to move on

TRUTH OUT, HEALING BEGINS. Lauro Vizconde on Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the murders of his wife and two daughters at his residence in BF Homes, Parañaque City. LYN RILLON

The truth is out. Let the healing begin.

This was how Lauro Vizconde’s relatives summed it up on Thursday night after a Mass marking the 20th anniversary of the death of his wife Estrellita and daughters Carmela and Jennifer.

“It is time to heal the past. And while justice seems elusive, life must go on,” Vizconde’s grandniece Katherine Asuncion said, reading from a family statement.

Asuncion, 27, was a constant playmate of Jennifer Vizconde, who was 7 years old when she was killed.

On the night of June 29, 1991, Asuncion was supposed to have a sleepover with Jennifer at the latter’s home in Parañaque City. But her parents did not allow her to go.

Nephews had posted a banner declaring “Truth prevails 20 years after” and demanding “Final justice for the Vizconde massacre victims,” in apparent reference to government probers’ claims that, contrary to his alibi, released murder convict Hubert Webb “never left” the country.

Reporters jostled with Vizconde’s relatives and friends in his garage, where Fr. Francisco “Kit” Hernandez celebrated Mass.

Among those present were former Vice President Teofisto Guingona; Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista, father of carjack victim Venson Evangelista; Dacer-Corbito witness Cezar Mancao and his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio; and members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

“Be consoled that the truth will always come out,” Hernandez advised Vizconde. “However, keep in mind not to be vindictive. Let the love of God prevail. God does not teach us to retaliate. Choose God’s endless kind of love.”

Hernandez also reminded Vizconde that he now had “three saints in Heaven.”

“Pray to them. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. When we die, that is when we will be given the whole truth… May the Lord console you in all your afflictions,” The priest said.

After the Mass, VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez urged Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against the seven Supreme Court justices who either voted to acquit Webb and coaccused or abstained from voting last December.

Early Thursday, Lauro Vizconde went to Holy Cross Memorial Park and laid bouquets of roses on the tombs of his wife and daughters.

“I told my family that I did my best. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened,” he said.

Vizconde said his quest for justice was continuing despite the end of the prescription period for the prosecution of his family’s killers.

“The prescription period does not matter to me, it’s just a date,” he said. “I’m still hoping for a miracle to happen. The fight is not over. I will be conferring with my lawyers about my future moves.”

Under the law, prosecutors of a murder case are given 20 years from the time it occurred or the time it was discovered to identify suspects and charge them in court.

More witnesses

Vizconde is clinging to the hope that even if this period ended Thursday, more concerned citizens will approach the National Bureau of Investigation to corroborate claims made by new witnesses that Webb was seen in BF Homes, Parañaque City, at the time of the murders.

Webb had presented the alibi that he was in the United States when the crime was committed, but he was still found guilty by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court. He and six others spent 15 years in jail.

The men were released on Dec. 14 last year, after the Supreme Court dismissed the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro against Webb.

Vizconde said he was “optimistic about finding more witnesses.”

“Hopefully, if they will surface, public pressure will snowball and I will finally get the justice I am looking for,” he said.