Update: Hubert Webb seeks acquittal from SC
Hubert Webb has asked the Supreme Court to acquit him and order his release from the New Bilibid Prison.
In an Urgent Motion to Acquit filed before the Supreme Court yesterday by his lawyer, Demetrio C. Custodio Jr. of the Ongkiko Manhit Custodio and Acorda law firm, Webb said his constitutional right to due process was violated when the State, through negligence or willful suppression, failed to produce the semen specimen that could have proven his innocence.
Click here to read the motion: Hubert webb motion to acquit
The Supreme Court said it is ready to decide on the Vizconde massacre case even as the National Bureau of Investigation said it couldn’t find the DNA samples obtained from the victims in the crime.
Atty Demi Custodio, lawyer of Hubert Webb, prime suspect in the crime, said they are going to ask the high court to dismiss the case.
“We are going to ask the Supreme Court to finally decide on that case but considering our position that because of the denial of due process, resulting from the state losing the evidence, it should result to the acquittal of Mr. Hubert Webb,” he said.
Webb, son of former Sen. Freddie Webb has been in prison for 15 years.
Last Oct 17,Chehe Lazaro Presents featured “Two Fathers’ Quest for Justice” about the story of Lauro Vizconde and Freddie Webb, two fathers whose paths crossed because of the massacre that captured the attention of the whole world.
The episode discussed but not dwell on the facts of the incident and the case that was dubbed the trial of the century. With the Supreme Court final verdict still pending, both families can do nothing but wait for the decision that will either seal a man’s fate behind bars or set him free.
Cheche Lazaro interviewed the major players and took a closer look at how their lives were changed because of the crime.
The video is divided into 8 parts. Instead of posting all the video of the eight episodes here, I’m posting the links:
1 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2133
2 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2132
3 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2131
4 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2130
5 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2128
6 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2127
7 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2126
8 of 8:http://www.probetv.com/index.php?option=com_probetv&view=video&layout=program&id=0&Itemid=8&vi=2125
Following is the intro video:
Let justice be served to the innocents.
lopsided reporting by lazaro. more people spoke for webb than for the vizcondes. more reporting on defense than prosecution evidence.
this piece was more about the webbs and their suffering and should be labeled as such.
re: us state dep docu attesting to stay of hubert,
1. the court has the right to question the one/s who executed it. AND
2. u.s. then would only be able to attest as to entry dates of a traveller and NOT the actual (length of) STAY because exits pre-9/11 were not recorded.* the question then would be WHEN after the massacre did he enter the u.s. and would not the ins have record of it. i dont know. perhaps he entered via canada or mexico. i am not familiar with border entries and if they made records of it pre-9/11.
*kaya nga yung may green cards noon and overstayed in the phils were easily able to maintain their green cards. nawala na lang kuno ang kanilang passports and got new stamps from phil. immigration, and voila puede na nilang sabihin sa ins na kelan lang sila dumating sa pinas.
today you have to give back your I-91 card once at port of exit(?) and thus leave a record of when you exited the u.s.
This is indeed a very sad and unfortunate commentary on how justice is carried out in the Philippines. There are also the Fulgencio rape case, the Del Castillo Plagiarism case, the bar exam bomb case, the ombudsman impeachment case the mendoza hostage case, etc., etc, etc. There are more pending cases that demand justice, and each one it seems find its way up to the Supreme court. The Supreme Court that itself have serious problems about justice.
The DNA evidence could have trumped all testimonial evidence, had it proven negative for Hubert Webb’s DNA. The loss, after earlier refusal to have the swab subjected to DNA, renders the case fundamentally unfair. Note that it was the prosecution that objected to DNA testing, according to Freddie Webb.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has similarly held that dismissal may be an appropriate remedy, even when the state does not act in bad faith, if the loss or destruction of the potentially exculpatory evidence “is nonetheless so critical to the defense as to make a criminal trial fundamentally unfair.” Commonwealth v. Henderson, 582 N.E.2d 496, 497
quoted in Jose Pena v The State of Texas, which is a nice survey of treatment of lost evidence by different states.
10thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId=8238
Please supply the three w’s.
The US Supreme Court, in 1982, decided the case of Youngblood v. Arizona, before advances in DNA technology. Most states have now rejected the doctrine in Youngblood. The survey in the Pena case explains why.
#3
‘xxx potentially exculpatory evidence “is nonetheless so critical to the defense as to make a criminal trial fundamentally unfair.”’
dna testing of semen in carmela vizconde would not necessarily prove that hubert webb did not rape or kill the former if there was no dna match. it only proves that he did not leave any semen. he could have used a condom or he could be a follower of onan.
that cannot outweigh positive identification of 7 or 9 witnesses.
dna testing is not the end-all and be-all of proving one’s innocence or guilt.
now if dna testing request was denied unduly then it may be grounds for lack of a fair trial then webb’s right to due process had been violated and dismissal would be imminent, to my mind. but if everything was done by the book this conviction should stand, nothwithstanding non-testing of dna, or even testing of dna and finding that there was no match.
sorry i was responding to #4
amelita tolentino is not just any rtc judge. her decision was tightly written.
plus, though this is counterintuitive to getting at the truth, and the facts do not rest on all fours with the vizconde case, in DA v Osborne in the US if we are relying on US jurisprudence, request for DNA was denied by J Roberts and his crew even though it could have proved osborne was not the rapist.
DA v. Osbourne was not an outright denial of DNA testing. The Supreme Court denied on procedural grounds; you cannot use Federal habeas corpus when the same result can be obtained by state procedure. Osbourne should have invoked state law as a vehicle.
Osbourne, also had DNA testing (STR versus RFLP), and declined the kind of DNA testing that he now seeks. So he cannot claim to have been denied DNA testing.
In the Hubert Webb case, DNA testing was requested by Webb, but objected to, by the prosecution, and denied by the courts (not just Tolentino).
RE: In the Hubert Webb case, DNA testing was requested by Webb, but objected to, by the prosecution, and denied by the courts (not just Tolentino).~sax
Paano yan…15 years na ibinartolina ang pobre, ngayon after all sasabihin ng Prosexcution guilty ang suspect…e bakit walang naganap na DNA testing?
Ano gustong palabasin ng Prosexcution…sa ibang kaso nagkakahamunan pa magpalie detector ang magkatunggaling partido pero ito na highly sensational na rape case dapat ginawa ito.
Bobo talaga ang mga Prosexcutors sa ating bansa…magaling lang sila ng pagtulungan nila si Pres. Erap na pabagsakin sa poder ng kapangyarihan. After nito hayon promoted lahat ang mga Prosexcutors ng Impeachment trials…coincidence di ba Folks?
Prosexcutors ng rape case con Presexcutors ng impeachment trials, equal to mga bobo talaga! Kaya ba nilang ibalik ang 15-years kung sakali na not guilty si Webb? BOBOooooooo talaga…nakakainit ng kukote sa ating mga Prosexcutors!
RE: Masha’s #2 post.
I don’t think that the US State Dept. report relied solely only on the flight/ immigration records of Webb. I’m pretty sure that the FBI which was then task to investigate the case went thru every nitsy details of the case like Webbb’s driver’s license application, employment records, etc…
Some if not all of us know how the Pinoy’s then can easily “manipulate” and connive with our immigration officers here to “doctor” the entry dates on their passports. If we mere mortals knows this, don’t you think the US immigration were that naive not to know this? Of course they do, they are just not strict then. It is only after the 9/11 incident that they became strict since it’s already a national security concern.
Funny how some people would even say that the reason why the US State Dept. made the report in Webb’s favor is because the former Senator is rich and very influential (read this in another forum, btw).
Wow, I didn’t know that the Webb’s has that much influence with the US gov’t. 😛
It’s not for me to judge if Hubert Webb was guilty or not. But I base my humble opinion on a couple of things: First, he was the suitor of the victim. Binasted ng babae. Second, he was a drug addict.
A simple criminal would just stab once or twice the victims. With the number of stab wounds, it’s safe to conclude that the killer or killers were high on drugs. We don’t want to base our impression on the physical appearance of a person. Pero halatang mukhang durugista si Hubert. On top of that, he’s with his barkada from prominent wealthy families.
Let’s not also forget that basketball star Freddie Webb was too busy with his basketball career and then as a Senator that he had no time to be with his children. His children were left to his wife. Hindi naman siguro kataka-taka kung sabihin na-spoiled ng masyado ng nanay si Hubert.
Hubert’s alibi or excuse that he was in the US when the crime was committed could not be completely acceptable. We all know that passport can be faked and with strong connection at the Embassy, anything was possible at that time given the position of his dad who was a Senator then.
Needless to say, Hubert was a VIP at Muntinlupa Prison. He was and is being treated specially. Compare him to the many innocent prisoners who are not as rich and popular as him.
At the end of the day, if Hubert was really guilty of the crime, let him continue to suffer. We should not listen to his family’s cries. Of course family members will always be on his side, guilty or not.
The certification as to the whereabouts of Hubert at the time of the rape was signed by Foreign Sec. Madelaine Albright. I find it irrational that such documentary evidence was disallowed since Albright cannot personally testify to its genuineness. Moreso that the request comes not from an official of the government but from a rapist on trial, hence the US cannot act on it. Why didn’t DOJ do so on behalf of the court? or DFA?
The spirit of the law generally allows for some slack for the accused, so that he can exhaust all measures to prove his innocence but in Webb’s case, (especially where it refers to the documents and testimonies obtained in the States) justice was rigid.
The sad part is that it was relaxed only when it was the star witness’ turn.
We all saw it on TV, that bitch who claims to have been in the company of the suspects several hours before, during, and after the supposed rape-murder, cannot even recognize her “friends” even if they were face-to-face and within smelling distance. Whatever happened to reasonable doubt?
Also, her testimony says she saw Hubert raping Carmela from outside the bedroom window, but when the time for visual inspection came, it was found that it was impossible to see the bed from outside. Stupid girl, who would place the bed directly in the line of sight of passersby? Of course she cannot and did not witness the rape and murder. And that fraudulent claim is not shared by any other witness, nor does any evidence support her allegation.
Again, what happened to reasonable doubt?
“We all know that passport can be faked and with strong connection at the Embassy” – 2b1ask1
You mean the US embassy? I don’t think so… The only time the US emabassy/ gov’t will do such a thing (kung meron man)like manipulating an investigation in favor of an individual or group is when it’s own interest is at stake. Meaning, may kapalit. I don’t think Freddie Webb the basketball star/ actor turned politician has anything that the US needs. Kung dahil senador lang siya ng Pinas, anong mapapala ng mga Kano kay Freddie? 😛
“Again, what happened to reasonable doubt?” – Tongue
The mere fact that the SC asked the NBI to produce the sample semen found on the victims body means the SC wants all doubts erased on the guuilt of Webb et al. Kung siguradong kumbinsido na ang SC sa mga existing evidence nna hawak nila, bakit pa nila hihingin ang sample semen for DNA testing. May doubt diba? 🙂
SnV:
Itodo pusta ko na $50 na napanalunan ko sa yo noong nakaraang election. SC will afform the conviction of Webb.
😛
Thanks for reminding me henry. So I will now send a check for $50 to the Franciscan monastery here, unless you indicate another charity.
The $50 for Webb is on. I don’t believe the Supreme Court will reverse. Pero dehadista tayo. That is the only way I bet in the Kentucky Derby.
Pag maraming stab wounds, addict ang sumaksak? Logic ng kantoboy dito yan.
Precisely, nung araw, kaya nauso yung sinaksaksak ng marami ang biktima para ang hahanapin ng pulis, addict o lasenggo. Kundi, yung may malaking atraso ang biktima. E di maliligaw agad ang imbestigador. Murder for insurance lang pala.
Pati yung mga gun-for-hire, ang gawain niyan, kukunin ang relos, alahas at wallet ng biktima tapos niya barilin, Ang lead ng pulis, robbery w/ homicide. Hahanapin sa mga sanglaan yung alahas. Unsolved ang kaso dahil ibinaon na sa lupa yung mga alahas. Ipinatumba lang pala ng asawa.
Pero luma na yan. At alam na rin yan ng pulis. Yung gumagamit pa rin ng ganong logic, pulis patola yun.
Yung kababata kong babae, 39 ang saksak puro sa dibdib at mukha, addict ang tumira? Hindi, mga karpintero na natiyempuhan niyang pinasok yung bagong-gawang bahay niya sa Biñan, Laguna. Meron palang ginawang sikretong lagusan yung mga karpintero sa overhang ng bubong papuntang kisame at diretso na sa Master’s bedroom. Umabsent si Ging nung araw na yon dahil mamimili siya ng panghanda niya sa isang party. Akala ng mga karpintero di agad babalik kaya isinagawa ang pagnanakaw. Nung mabuko sila, siniguro lang nilang walang makakapagturo sa kanila.
39 na saksak.
Kung bangag ang pumatay doon, tama na siguro ang isa o dalawang saksak. Adik nga e di ba? Kung maayos ang pag-iisip ng kriminal, sigurista yan, para walang kakanta, tatadtarin ka talaga. Kung adik, wala sa ayos ang pag-iisip niyan buking agad pihado at di na sana inabot ng limang sets ng suspects ang kaso.
Ipinilit na lang ng NBI na sasakyan nila yung panaginip ni Lauro Vizconde. Kaya ayun yung NBI Chief, inatake sa puso matapos ang dalawang linggo, patay. Pinatay siguro ng kunsensiya.
Sayang di ako pumupusta dahil takot ako matalo. 😛
But same with Henry and SNV, I think SC won’t reverse kahit di ako sang ayaon. Justice? Just tiis nalang tayo. 🙁
Aral kay Putot yang mga appointees niya sa SC. Habang mainit pa ang nakakahiyang kaso ng plagiarism, ida-divert na agad yan ng isang controversial decision. Hanggang makalimutan na lang.
Hirap talaga lumaban ng parehas. Gayahin na lang ni Hubert si Jalosjos. Tiis-tiis. Meron pang natitirang 25 years. Tsk tsk tsk.
At this point, most of us can only speculate. A criminal not in his right state of mind stabbing the victim several times is just one angle. True, a good criminal could do a clean job to mislead the investigator. But again, this is speculation and assumption. It now comes down to the motive in committing the crime. One of the first things authorities would like to know is the motive. Hubert was a suitor who got basted. It could have hurt his ego badly. Mixed with the influence of the drugs, that could have led him and his group to commit the heinous crime. At gaya ng sinabi niyo na malinis ang paggawa, kaya nga pati ang nanay at maliit na bata ay pinatay din.
Passport can be faked. I was referring to Philippine passport. It can’t be disputed that fake passports are rampant even today and especially in the past. One can even return to Manila, commits the crime, and returns to the US to make it appear that he was not physically present when the crime was committed.
In the ultimate analysis, who killed the Vizcondes if it was not Hubert and his group? The witness Alfaro? Such question is similar to asking “Who killed Ninoy if it was not Galman?” “Who killed JFK?” “Who killed Martin Luther King?”
Let’s just watch and see what happens.
Tongue, kaya nga every time someone ask kung kailan uunlad ang Pinas. Ang sagot ko diyan ay kung ang ating hustisya dito sa ating bansa ay pantay pantay. Walang mahirap o mayaman, cute man o pangit. Pandak o matangkad, sexy o mataba. Dapat walang pinapanigan ang batas at hustisya at dapat sa katotohanan lamang. 🙂
The expose, if it can be called that, seems to suggest a conspiracy: The NBI chief flip-flopping on his view of the case, the personal interest of then President Ramos, the gov’t’s disregard of the US State Depts certification, whereas, it was the NBI who actually requested the US to look into Hubert Webb’s situation in the US, the destruction of evidence by the police, the states continued confidence on their star witness despite her ever changing account of the crime, and now, losing specimens for DNA examination. Smells fishy.
But then again, what could be the motive, if there is some kind of conspiracy?
Masyado ng matagal sa kulungan si Hubert, malulungkot sya kung palabasin ng Supreme Court which I doubt. The best that SC could do is to order a swab for Hubert’s DNA but again, hindi yan gagawin SC. Tiis-tiis na lang ulit si Hubert in the absence of a forensic evidence.
OT
The NBI filed several charges against Anthony Nepomuceno, the alledge Bar Exam bomber. It’s still too early to tell but I hope this guy is not another fall guy.
Remember that the NBI is pressured to solve this case by no less than PNoy himself. Baka sakakamadali at masabing na solve na nila ang kaso eh, kung sinu-sino nalang ang ituturong suspek. Wag naman sana. And also, there’s a PHP 1.2M reward money.
VP Binay coming into the picture by surrendering the “suspect” does not help Mr. Nepomuceno’s case even if he indeed is innocent. Alam niyo naman dito sa atin basta kapag ang isang “suspek” ay anak o kadikit ng isang mayaman o ng isang maimpluwensiyang tao eh guilty na .
RE:In the ultimate analysis, who killed the Vizcondes if it was not Hubert and his group? The witness Alfaro? Such question is similar to asking “Who killed Ninoy if it was not Galman?” “Who killed JFK?” “Who killed Martin Luther King?” ~ 2b1ask1
He he he…walastik talaga…baka maging isyu pa nito kung sino pumatay kay Lapu-Lapu?
Si Lapu-Lapu ang pumatay kay Mactan pero di ko alam kung sino ang pumatay kay Lapu-Lapu. I’ll ask my friend who’s a Chef.
Ha!Ha!Ha! Ikaw talaga 2b1ask1!