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Ex-Senator Webb confident SC decision will favor son Hubert


Former Senator Freddie Webb expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will see the Vizconde massacre case, now nearly two decades old, from a different perspective and issue a decision in favor of his son and the other accused. "We are all pinning our hopes with the honorable members of the Supreme Court. I know that they will based their opinion, their decision kung ano ba ang nasa harapan nila, yun ang mga ebidensiya, dokumento at credible witnesses," he said in an interview with GMA's Arnold Clavio. Webb said his family was not happy that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Paranaque regional trial court failed to produce the semen sample or vaginal smears from the body of victim Carmela Vizconde.

In June 1991, Carmela was allegedly raped by Hubert before she was killed in her family's Parañaque home. Her mother, Estrellita, and sister, Jennifer, were also killed. "We’re not very happy that the State lost the evidence na magpapatunay na si Hubert Webb ay walang kinalaman sa krimen na kinasasangkutan niya ngayon. But the fact remains that wala kaming kinalaman sa pagkawala na yan. Ang may kasalanan niyan ay either the NBI or the regional trial court," the former senator said. (We're not happy that the State lost the evidence that would prove that Hubert Webb has nothing to do with the crime he is accused of right now. However, the fact remains that we had nothing to do with the lost evidence. Either the NBI or the regional trial court is at fault.) DNA analysis The SC decided on October 19, 2010 that it will no longer require DNA analysis because the NBI can no longer produce the specimen. The SC also said the case is ready for resolution. Webb said the DNA test on the specimen "would have proven that Hubert did not commit the crime of rape or murdered the victims." Hubert was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque RTC Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in October 2000 for the killings. The Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in December 2005. The accused then elevated the case to the Supreme Court and asked that a DNA analysis be conducted on a semen sample or vaginal smears taken from Carmela. In April this year, the court granted Webb's request and directed the NBI to produce the semen specimen or vaginal smears taken from Carmela's body and conduct a DNA analysis. 400 documents Webb also reiterated his dismay with the Paranaque regional trial court which rejected the 400 documents their camp presented to prove the innocence of Hubert. He said only 14 pieces of evidence were considered by the court. "It’s very authentic, it favored us and yet it's given no weight whatsoever," Webb said.

He said they presented to the court evidence that Hubert was in the United States as early as March 9, 1991, three months before the crime happened, and returned to the country on October 26, 1992, a year after. "There is no record that says that he came home. Makikita mo 'Igan na the documents that we presented, almost 400 of them, wala man lang nakita ang korte o prosecution that it was altered or erased. Supervalue yan dahil lahat nakadokumento yan e," Webb said. (There is no record that says he came home. You will see, 'Igan, that the documents we presented, almost 400 of them, neither the court nor the prosecution saw that it was altered or erased. That's supervalue because everything is documented.) They also presented Hubert's daily time record at a pest control company, Environment First Termite Control, where he was working when the incident happened. He said there were also records that Hubert encashed checks on June 10, 11, 13, 14 and 28. He added on the day the crime was committed, Hubert bought a bicycle in the US, as certified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). "A receipt for a bicycle purchased on June 30, 1991 by Hubert Webb for a cannondale bicycle was verified as being legitimate. Ang nagsasalita ay ang FBI (FBI made this statement)," said the former senator. He said the court also did not take into consideration the testimonies of Gary Valenciano, among others, who said they saw Hubert in the US. "Magsisinungaling ba si Gary. He is a Christian and he knows very well that what he did was identify Hubert. Nakilala niya si Hubert doon. Alam niya kung ano ang pinagusapan nila doon," Webb said. Asked on the condition of his son now, Webb said "Hubert's never gonna be fine. Meron ba namang magiging OK pag nakakulong ka at araw araw iniisip mo anong ginagawa ko dito, nung nangyari ang krimen nasa Amerika ako." (How can anyone be okay when he is jailed and everyday he is thinking what am I doing here when I was in the US when the crime happened?) Meanwhile, Lauro Vizconde, the husband and father of the victims, believed that his family will finally get the justice they deserve. He said he dreamt of his wife recently and she was very happy. “She is very happy. Without telling me what or why she is happy……as if she is telling me something good will come up finally," Vizconde said. –VVP, GMANews.TV