#vizconde

***: ¡Pero está helando!

El vizconde que me amo - Julia Quinn♡

El Vizconde Rebelde - Bronwyn Scott

#vizconde #ministro #francia #reinado #despecho #informacion #emancipacion #colonias #españolas #inglesas

In case reading, there's supposed to be this unspoken warning not to 'fall in love' with a single particular case, since you might spend too much time on it and not get to read all the other ones which are equally or even more important. Luckily, it's not in the 'fall in love' category just yet, but the Vizconde Massacre has definitely struck my fancy. This was a very celebrated trial, rivaling even Erap's impeachment in terms of consciousness among the Filipino people, which is amazing considering that while the Filipinos rightfully should have been taking notice of the latter considering that it involved our Chief Executive, there was really no reason for us to stay up to date with the former. But we all did anyway! I mean, I was probably like 7 to 9 years old when all this happened but I still can recall fondly how much of a buzz it generated. People were so tuned in to the case that a movie on 'Star Witness' Jessica Alfaro was even made, and a parody of Vizconde principal suspect Hubert Webb was made in the gag show 'Tropang Trumpo' (the 'Hubs' character who really had a striking resemblance to Hubert) which either shows how compassionate Filipinos are, or how much we like to meddle in other people's affairs (or in the case of the local film industry, how they can ride the coattails of the current hot and popular newsmaker. Bangsamoro The Movie, anyone?). But seriously, the Vizconde case got me digging up what I could about it. And from all the news clips and other literature I gathered over the internet, it planted some doubt in my mind as to whether or not the defendants were really at fault. I'm of the opinion that Hubert Webb and Co. were in fact guilty, but it seems like there's a possibility some of the evidence they presented were dismissed rather hastily when it should've been given more time pondering on. The Webbs stated that Hubert was in the States at the time the crime was committed, and they presented some evidence to back it up. They looked up the records of the US Embassy; they gave proof that Hubert acquired a driver's license in California on a certain date, which would show that he could not have possibly been in the country at the time; and they secured testimonies from certain people (including even Mr. Pure Energy, Gary V) who vouched for him by saying that they saw Hubert in the States. But this was all rejected by the court. While I agree with the junking and think that it's but a flimsy excuse, you have to be fair and look at it from the other point-of-view. While Hubert's dad Freddie was (I think either) a Congressman or Senator at the time, do you really think he had that much sway in the US that he can ask them to twist some evidence in his favor? And what would the US gain in vouching for Hubert's innocence? This should definitely count as one of the loose ends of this case. But then again, if Hubs really was in the States, why'd he and the other co-accused have to procure the services of Paranaque Cop Gerardo Biong? And how would he explain the blood-stained shirt seen by their former househelp Mila Gaviola the morning after the day the crime happened? And do you just discount Jessica Alfaro's statements just because she has a checkered history? It's a really tough call. Like the Eraserheads said, there are b-sides to every story. So you never really know for sure. (But it seems like Hubs has gotten the hang of things in Bilibid, as it was reported he is now a ranking officer of a prison gang, the Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Might as well enjoy his bad-ass rep while in the joint, I guess.) Another thing, it just goes to show the scary fact that if you have power, you can cover up almost anything, barring any hitches. To think they were even able to almost pin the blame on the pseudo-Akyat Bahay Gang 'leader' who turned out to be a mere pawn? And what would've happened if Biong hadn't been caught cleaning up the mess left by the offenders? It's really 'can't-sleep' level disturbing just thinking about it, which explains why I'm blogging at this ungodly hour. Also, this retrospect thing I have going on also got me to notice that popular cases in the 90's involved heinous criminal crimes like slaying and raping. Aside from the Vizconde case, among the ones I remember are the Chiong Sisters rape-slay and the Lenny Villa case. The more recent issues are more political, like EDSA II, 'Hello Garci', Bangsamoro, etc. Not that I'm hoping for a new celebrated rape or slay case, just thought I wanted to get that out. But that's another story. I'm out!