Angry Webb family may ask for De Lima's disbarment

(Updated 1:54 p.m.) Members of the family of acquitted Vizconde massacre suspect Hubert Webb on Wednesday said they are considering asking for the disbarment of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. The Webb family is "presently evaluating" a demand to disbar De Lima, saying she is guilty of contempt for contradicting the Supreme Court ruling that acquitted Hubert from any involvement in the 1991 Vizconde massacre. "We accuse De Lima of subversion of the rule of law. What she has done is not only actionable in terms of a citation for contempt by the SC but upright disbarment," said lawyer Luis Agcaoili, one of the legal counsels of the Webb family. Agcaoili issued the statement during a press conference in Makati City on Wednesday morning, a day after a joint task force headed by De Lima revealed evidence that would supposedly prove that Hubert Webb was in the country during the time the crime was committed.
NBI: Reinvestigation was 'fair' De Lima could not be reached for comment as of posting time because she is out of the country, according to Department of Justice (DOJ) public information officer Alex Lactao. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is under the DOJ, stood by the "fairness" of its reinvestigation of the 1991 Vizconde massacre. Speaking to reporters, NBI spokesman Cecilio Zamora defended its findings that Webb was in the Philippines when Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde were killed in their Parañaque home two decades ago. "I can give the assurance that the investigation was fair. We would not have come out with the results if it were otherwise," said Zamora. The spokesman, however, declined to comment further. De Lima "electioneering"? Agcaoili likewise said De Lima is guilty of "electioneering" because she is just using the matter to elicit public approval. "We also accuse Leila de Lima of mental dishonesty and outright laziness because 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 added. Malacañang in December ordered a reinvestigation of the Vizconde massacre after the Supreme Court acquitted Hubert Webb and six others who had been earlier convicted by a lower court of the murders of Estrellita, Carmela, and Jennifer Vizconde on June 30, 1991. The government task force, led by the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, said it has at least three sets of suspects, including Hubert Webb and his former co-accused and fellow convicts in the celebrated case. New witnesses Among the new witnesses presented by the NBI on Tuesday was a drug dealer named "George," who said he had a transaction with Webb around the time when the massacre happened. Another witness named "Mario" said Webb got a haircut from him sometime in June 1991. Two others, "Rey" and "Jerry" said they saw Webb playing basketball in BF Homes in Parañaque sometime between June and July 1991. Aside from the witnesses, NBI Death Investigation Division head Romulo Asis said they were also able to retrieve magnetic reel tapes from the Bureau of Immigration that would prove Webb never left the counrty. Polluted source? Hubert's lawyer Zenaida Ongkiko-Acorda, however, said that the 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 called a lying witness," she said during the same press conference. She likewise asked why these witnesses chose to only show up now. "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. Acorda added that their evidence proving that Hubert was in the United States during the time of the Vizconde massacre — around 94 witnesses and 400 documents — were more "superior" than the NBI's supposed proof. "Their investigation was incomplete," she said, adding that the magnetic tape reels show that Hubert returned to the country in 1992, thus proving he must have left sometime before. Hubert's father, Freddie Webb, a former senator, asked the NBI to name the witnesses in the name of fair play. "Now they have four Alfaros which we can't examine. Bigyan ninyo po kami ng pagkakataon, bigay po ninyo kami ng pangalan, kami naman ang magpaa-imbestiga (Give us a chance, give us names, this time we'll be the ones to do the investigating)," he said. The elder Webb said they want to live a normal life but they are not being given the a chance to. "Kayo po ang nagsinungaling, hindi kami (You're the ones who lied, not us)," he said. But Acorda said that the task force's efforts were probably just a face-saving measure. "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 SC has already spoken... let us all respect the decision of the SC," she added. Hubert's appeal Hubert, for his part, said that his family is "tired" from all the problems being caused by the case. "I lost 15 years of my life. I never saw my nephews grow up. Our family is tired. We really are. We are exhausted," he said during press conference. He likewise said that he can not even walk around without fear that he would be attacked. "These cruel evil people are still doing the same things they've been doing," he said. Because of this, Hubert said he hopes that the authorities, especially the NBI and the DOJ, would stop with their campaign against them. "These people have destroyed our family. They fight us with ghosts. Saan kami ngayon pupunta para sa hustisya namin (Where do we go now to seek justice)," he said. - with Sophie Dedace/VVP/HS/KBK, GMA News