Religious superiors join call to reverse SC decision on Webb acquittal

Religious superiors join call to reverse SC decision on Webb acquittal

MANILA, Philippines—The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), through its chairperson Sister John Mananzan, asked the Supreme Court to reverse its decision acquitting Hubert Webb and six others in connection with the Vizconde massacre case.

In her petition-in-intervention, she told the high court that it should take a second look at the case because it cannot simply disregard the findings of the Paranaque City Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals....Mananzan said the high court should have given weight to the findings of the lower courts. “It was the Paranaque RTC that observed the behavior of principal witness Jessica Alfaro during her direct and cross-examination,” she said, pointing out that based on such observation, it could determine if she was lying or telling the truth.
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With due respect to Sister Mary John Mananzan, her reasons for asking the Supreme Court to reverse its decision does not hold water. She says the Supreme Court "cannot simply disregard the findings of the Paranaque City Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals....the high court should have given weight to the findings of the lower courts.". And why not? This is not the first time that the Supreme court has overturned lower courts' decisions. To remain consistent with her reasoning, Sr Mananzan would have to petition for reversal every single case that the Supreme Court overturns. Of course each of us are entitled to their own opinion with respect to the appreciation of the SC ruling. However, Sr Mananzan questioning the SC ruling in her official capacity as head of the AMRSP is another thing. Sr Mananzan is no legal expert, neither is the AMSRP an organization of law experts who possess training to engage the Supreme Court justices on the intricate points of legal jurisprudence. Neither is questioning SC decisions their true calling as nuns. The SC is well within its right and the purview of the law to reverse the lower courts in this case. Whether the decision is fair or not in the Vizconde case is not a matter of faith and morals, it is a prudential judgment that is best left to the secular court hierarchy.
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