Webb family, lawyers slam DoJ, NBI

MANILA, Philippines – Lawyers of the Webb family denounced the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday, accusing them of making “reckless” and “irresponsible” statements, and of subverting the authority of the Supreme Court, for claiming they had found new witnesses who could prove Hubert Webb was in the country when the Visconde massacre was committed 20 years ago.

The lawyers particularly singled out Justice Secretary Leila de Lima whom they accused of conducting a trial by publicity against Webb, pointing out he had been acquitted by the Supreme Court and could no longer be put on trial for the same offense because of the principle of double jeopardy.

“What she [De Lima] has done is not only actionable in terms of citation in contempt by the Supreme Court but an outright disbarment. And this is one of the options we are presently evaluating,” said lawyer Jose Luis Agcaoili, one of the legal counsels of the Webb family during a press conference at a Makati restaurant Wednesday morning.

Agcaoili said the justice secretary’s “irresponsible” statements were not only grounds for contempt but outright disbarment “which we are now presently studying.”

Demetrio Custodio, one of the lawyers said the claim of new findings and statements made by De Lima and NBI officials at their news conference on Tuesday “can subvert the very authority of the Supreme Court.”

De Lima and the NBI on Tuesday claimed they had new witnesses against Hubert and insisted that the 42-year-old son of former senator Freddie Webb was in the country during the 1991 killings.  De Lima, however, admitted that no witness could place the younger Webb at the scene of the crime.

They presented their new findings two days before the 20-year prescription period for the filing of a case against new suspects ends today.

“What happened yesterday is something we can’t let pass. It is unprecedented in so far as the government and its branches are concerned…It was a public declaration that to our mind completely subverted the authority of the Supreme Court,” said lawyer Demetrio Custodio, another counsel of the Webbs.

“Under the circumstances under which she made the statement, which is a subversion of the authority of the Supreme Court,  it may constitute the case for disbarment and that is one  possible course of action that we are considering….we will consider everything, including the filing of a disbarment if we find it sustainable,” he said.

“To say that the family was displeased was putting it very, very mildly,” he added. “Suffice it to say right now that we believe the line has been crossed and something has to be done, if not for the redemption of this family, at least for the preservation of the rule and the principles of law in future instances.”

De Lima and the NBI on Tuesday showed a picture of the passport, noting the differences between the signature and spelling of Hubert’s name compared to other travel documents.

The older Webb said his son earlier went to the Department of Foreign Affairs to have his passport renewed. They learned there that his old passport was being subpoenaed by investigators.

“I wasn’t able to sleep, I was very nervous…I told my children, ‘yayariin ang passport’ (they’ll mess up the passport),” he said.

During Tuesday’s press conference, the older Webb showed his son’s driver’s license, which was stamped June 14, 1991. He said a United States driver’s license would not be issued if the person was not physically available.

Showing a stamp on Hubert’s passport of his arrival in the US, Freddie said: “You can’t manufacture these kinds of things.”

The family also questioned the magnetic reel tapes used by investigators on Thursday. The tapes did not have the name Webb in the passenger manifest for his departure. However, the same reel showed he did arrive in 1992.

“If he arrived, then tell us when he left for the US, tell us,” Freddie said, stressing that the reinvestigation done by the NBI was “incomplete.”

The Webb patriarch added that no matter how much they would like to keep mum, he said his family felt the need to answer.

“As much as we don’t want to react to accusations without basis, sa atin, silence is a sign of guilt, kailangan naming magsalita (we need to speak up),” he explained. “We are very tired of this. But we cannot not fight back. We just want to have a simple, ordinary life but here they come again.”

Hubert was also accompanied by his mom and brothers Fritz and Jason during the media briefing.

“The DOJ and the NBI conveniently selected pieces of evidence to paint a picture of Webb still a suspect,” Custodio said, adding that what happened on Tuesday was a complete attack on the Webb family by no less by De Lima and NBI officers.

“You are telling citizens that it’s okay to come up with evidence even after the Supreme Court already has a final decision. This creates a bad precedent,” the lawyer added.

Agcaoili likewise accused De Lima of “electioneering,” saying she was using the Vizconde massacre case for her political ambition.

“Sinakripisyo niya ang tadhana para sa sarili niyang ambisyon, wala siyang pinagkaiba sa mga nauna sa kanya,” Agcaoili said. “Those who have come before you to do this have paid a stiff price. We caution you to step back and not cross the line. There’s a divine rule of karma, those who have oppressed these innocent men…God forbid you suffer the same,” he warned De Lima.

Agcaoli also accused De Lima of mental dishonesty and outright laziness.

“If she had taken the effort to read the separate concurring opinions (to the decision), then she would have at least had the humility to accept that greater minds than all of us here have reviewed and analyzed the evidence,” he said.

He said they believed that the move of De Lima and NBI aimed to convict Hubert in the minds of the public.

Likewise, Agcaoili warned the new witnesses against the possibility of suffering the fate of former state witness Jessica Alfaro.

“Nilalaglag na ng NBI si Jessica Alfaro. Kayong mga testigo, pag-isipan nyo. Kung paano sya nilaglag ganun din ang gagwin sa inyo pag napatunayang basura itong bagong imbestigasyon (They’ve dropped Jessica Alfaro.  Witnesses should think twice.  They would also be junked if it was proven that the investigation was no good),” he stressed.

On the other hand, another lawyer of Hubert, Zenaida Ongkiko-Acorda, said the new witnesses were not credible because they came from a “polluted source” – the NBI.

“[These witnesses were] produced by the same NBI who produced Jessica Alfaro, whom the SC [Supreme Court] called a lying witness,” she said during the press conference. “This is the same NBI that lost the semen sample … which would have proved his [Hubert’s] innocence beyond reasonable doubt.”

“And besides, these witnesses came out only 20 years after the crime was committed… why only now when they had 15 years of trial to present these witnesses?” she said.

She stressed that their evidence – 94 witnesses and  some 400 documents–proving that Hubert was in the United States during the time of the Vizconde massacre were “superior” to the NBI’s supposed evidence.

“Their investigation was incomplete,” she said. “The magnetic tape reels show that Hubert returned to the country in 1992, thus proving he must have left sometime before.

Acorda said the reinvestigation was probably just a face-saving measure on the part of the authorities.

“The NBI has a stake in this case. They want to uphold the credibility of their institution. They probably just want to prove that they are doing their jobs… but if they were really doing their jobs, they should have presented these evidence during trial,” she said.

“The Supreme Court has already spoken… everyone should respect that, including DoJ [Department of Justice], NBI and Secretary De Lima,” she added.

Webb’s father, Freddie, asked the NBI and the DOJ to name the witnesses in the name of fair play.

“Now they have four Alfaros whom we can’t examine. Bigyan ninyo po kami ng pagkakataon, bigay po ninyo kami ng pangalan, kami naman ang magpaa-imbestiga, pero hindi sa NBI [Give us a chance to check their stories, give us their names and we’ll have an investigation, but not by the NBI],” he said.

Hubert expressed hope the NBI and the DOJ would stop attacking him and his family.

“I lost 15 years of my life. I never saw my nephews grow up. Our family is tired. We really are. We are exhausted. I can’t even walk around without fear of getting attacked,” he said.

“These people have destroyed our family. I don’t know if anyone can grasp how evil these people are. They are still doing the same things they’ve been doing,” he added. “They fight us with ghosts. Saan kami ngayon pupunta para sa hustisya [Where will we go for justce]?” he added.

Hubert said authorities could at least bring back Alfaro to the country and let her face the charges he filed against her.

Asked about Lauro Vizconde’s demand for him to make a public apology, Hubert said: “I can’t apologize for something I didn’t do. But I’m sorry if he thinks I’m guilty, I’m really sorry for that.”

“Mamamatay na lang ako, hindi talaga ako ang gumawa nun [Even on my death, I say I did not do the crime],” he added, stressing that he would love to see the truth come out, “so Mang Lauro can also get justice for his family.”

Hubert’s father quickly added: “If there’s anyone who should apologize, it’s the NBI because they were the ones who created all these lies. Dapat humingi sila ng apology hindi lang kay Vizconde kundi sa amin din (They should offer an apology not only to Vizconde but also to us).”

Custodio said the “farce” presented by De Lima and her task force on Tuesday was a trial by publicity for a person who could not answer and defend himself in the court of law.

Acorda said she had already warned Secretary De Lima early on that “if the reinvestigation cannot assure our client a day in court, don’t start because that would be very unfair to our client. Questioning the innocence of Hubert Webb is unfair as he cannot anymore confront his accusers in court.”

“By stating the defense of alibi is false, Secretary De Lima is insisting of having the final say on the Vizconde massacre case, not the Supreme Court. This is an arrogation of De Lima of the functions of the Supreme Court. She should respect the highest court,” Acorda said.