Ex-Sen. Webb to Vizconde: Name SC justice 'lobbying' for Hubert's acquittal

Former Senator Freddie Webb on Friday asked Lauro Vizconde to identify the Supreme Court justice who is allegedly lobbying for the acquittal of his son, Hubert, who was convicted in 2000 for the Vizconde massacre in 1991. "I think (Vizconde) should mention the name and come out in the open and mention who this person is," Freddie Webb said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. He likewise said his family never made any moves to pull strings in the court. "We have no contacts. We have not talked to any justice. I stand by the fact that even when I was a member of the Senate, I let the wheels of justice move. We are not doing anything wrong," said Freddie, who was a senator from 1992 to 1998. Vizconde lost his wife, Estrellita, and daughters Carmella and Jennifer in the gruesome murders in June 1991. Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Judge Amelita Tolentino convicted Webb and six others in January 2000. The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction in December 2005 but Webb appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the two lower courts' findings. In October this year, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal, saying his rights have been violated because the government lost a DNA sample that could be instrumental in the case. In a Philippine Daily Inquirer report on Friday, Vizconde said a Supreme Court justice told him that another magistrate had been convincing fellow members of the bench to clear Hubert Webb. Vizconde provided more clues on the identity of the "lobbying" justice: The magistrate has inhibited from the case because he had once testified in the massacre trial long before he was appointed to the high court. The magistrate's wife is also related to Freddie Webb's wife. However, Freddie Webb turned the tables on Vizconde and said he should name the SC justice who was the source of his information. "He has to mention the justice who has been giving him information," Freddie told GMANews.TV on Friday. Freddie also denied that the allegation that his wife is related to the wife of the justice allegedly "lobbying" for Hubert's release. "My wife has no relation with any wife of any justice," Freddie said. Integrity of the court at stake Hubert's lawyer, Demetrio Custodio, said Vizconde's statements were "irresponsible." Custodio said it was unethical for a Supreme Court justice to feed the information to Vizconde, considering that the case is pending before the high tribunal. "[Vizconde's statements] attack the integrity of a justice of the Supreme Court. It also attacks the integrity of the entire Supreme Court. That a justice is doing something irregular, and then another justice is feeding information -- that is a very vicious attack and an irresponsible statement," Custodio said in a separate phone interview with GMANews.TV. The lawyer likewise asked the public for "sobriety, instead of believing such claims." He likewise said Hubert Webb has been behind bars for the past 16 years and it will be unlikely of his family to suddenly tap a Supreme Court justice's help. "He's there in jail for 16 years. How do you explain that after all this time, they're (Webb family) suddenly not willing to wait?" Custodio asked. – VVP, GMANews.TV