A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

Jourdan Sebastian Some may remember the Chiong Sisters Case as the "trial of the decade". Before that, some may have remembered the Vizconde Massacre . There was one thing in common between the two trials-- trial by publicity!  Both of them already had a public hungry for the verdict,  even when there was a need for due process .  We need to know what due process is. Respicio & Co. defines it as: Query: What is due process in the context of the Philippine legal system? Due process is a fundamental principle in the Philippine legal system, enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. It ensures that individuals are treated fairly and justly by the law, protecting their rights to life, liberty, and property. Due process consists of two essential components: substantive due process and procedural due process. Substantive Due Process Substantive due process pertains to the fairness of the laws themselve s. It requires that laws enacted by the government must be fair, reasonable, ...

Today is indeed the 35th anniversary of the Vizconde Massacre case . I wrote a previous article where grief was weaponized . The late Lauro Vizconde passed away sometime on February 13, 2016. It was already ten years ago when he died. It's a real pity that Hubert Webb got acquitted but the real killers got free. Grief was weaponized along the way. It was as if you believed that the wrong people were caught, the false dilemma was that you actually support criminals, and that you're not grieving with Lauro.  The Vizconde Massacre Trial, which only started in August 1995, sometime after April 28, 1995. That was when the "star witness" Jessica Alfaro , a self-confessed former drug addict, stepped forward. People were probably either too afraid, too excited, or, in the case of the Vizcondes, they were too perplexed not to notice that Jessica's story wasn't making any sense. However, it happened anyway  when Jessica stepped forward, and the crimes happened. We had t...

GMA-7 We have to admit that due process isn't about procrastination but about  avoiding jumping to conclusions, while doing something in the process. There's the principle of due process that says that both sides must be heard, that every suspect has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty . Back in the day, I had this judgmental behavior that says, "If it's a criminal, off the go! Due process is cowardice!" I would always raise the late Lauro Vizconde how he left this world with no justice. However, the reality is that Lauro left the world not knowing who murdered his wife and two daughters  before dying. There was no justice for him and the other extended members of his clan. This is the sad fact. What's even sadder is that Lauro's death on February 16, 2016, has the reality that the murderers were never found. For all we know, the murderers may have discreetly left the country before the 1995 trial.  When does grief become the "perfec...

The Vizconde Massacre is still a Case Unclosed. Sadly, the late Lauro Vizconde had false hope when the suspects were identified and convicted. Later on, Lauro broke into grief when Hubert Webb and his  co-accused were acquitted . Sadly, Lauro died without knowing who really murdered his wife and two daughters . I'm going to do a common-sense analysis of the Vizconde Case. The Vizconde Case was often tagged as the "trial of the century" back in my day. I used to believe the narrative of arrogant rich boys caused the crime. However, an arrogant person  is barely subtle. I decided to read the Supreme Court decision in 2010 . Sadly, the same Supreme Court decision is still sticking to the faulty narrative that Francisco Juan G. Larrañaga was guilty. This was probably done to protect Atty. Hilario G. Davide's reputation, who was Chief Justice   at that time in 2004. Looking back at the narrative vs. common sense Instead, I decided to focus on the narrative by Jessica Alfar...

Updated: June 4 2026 The Vizconde Massacre looks like it's going to be in those cases, still Case Unclosed. Back in the 1990s, the Vizconde Massacre was one of the cases I heard while growing up. I once believed that Hubert Jeffry P. Webb was guilty. I actually wanted to see the man get the death penalty. What shocked me was that after many years, Hubert, along with Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga, were both innocent of the crimes they were accused of! Since the crime happened in 1991, and the trial only began in 1995. Right now, it turns out that Jessica Alfaro, the "star witness" is living somewhere in Canada . The rumors of the Chiong Sisters living in Canada can't be proven. However, it's proven that Jessica is living in Canada. From the Asian Human Rights Commission , here's a summary of the Vizconde Case. Since I'm not writing this as a book report in middle school or high school, I'll paste the summary here: VIZCONDE MASSACRE CASE: ...

  It may already be past the late Flor Contemplacion's death anniversary. However, I felt like writing this piece because of two severely miscarried cases . The first case was the Vizconde Massacre (read here ). The second case is that of the Chiong Sisters (read here ). The cry has stayed the same since 1995 up to 2024. It's still #JusticeForFlor and it'll be 40 years by 2025. As far as concerned, a movie was made about the Vizconde Massacre while the trial was going on. A film about Flor's life was made in the same year she was executed. A movie about the Chiong Sisters Case was only made in 2018. Some people insist that Flor was innocent. However, we need to compare the justice system of the two countries. I used to believe that Hubert Jeffry P. Webb and Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga were guilty. I was shocked to find out that a friend of mine was with Paco in Quezon City , on that same night of the crime. There were several witnesses. Why didn't t...