MANILA, Philippines - After years of waiting for a ruling on the Vizconde massacre case, the family of Hubert Webb hopes to finally get justice.
It is only a matter of time before the Supreme Court hands down a final verdict on the case.
Speaking on ANC's "Headstart" on Thursday, Fritz Webb, older brother of Hubert Webb, says all things being equal, they are confident the court will rule in favor of Hubert Webb.
"We've been waiting 15 years for the courts to make a decision, you know how long. Fifteen years is a long time for courts to decide whether someone was here [in the country] or not. Given the evidence that we have, we feel very confident that given an even playing field, Hubert will be found innocent of the crime."
The Webb camp insists that Hubert was out of the country the day the crime was committed.
"If we look at the whole case, it would've saved the Philippines a lot of time and effort if the Philippine government asked the U.S. government if Hubert Webb was in the U.S. at that time. We still believe that if the Supreme Court studies the case, there's nowhere to go but to find him innocent."
Supplemental motion
The statement comes a day (Dec. 8) after the Webb camp filed a supplemental motion to acquit Hubert Webb before the Supreme Court, citing there is "not just reasonable doubt as to the guilt of appellant Webb," but that "there is, in fact, moral certainty that he is innocent."
The motion was grounded on the claim the prosecution's case was anchored on the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro, whom Webb's camp calls a "bogus witness."
On Wednesday, a former NBI agen, who was a close-in security of Alfaro, claimed that star witness in the Vizconde massacre case had lied about the case.
Should his brother Hubert be acquitted, Fritz Webb says the decision could result in a domino effect and the acquittal of other suspects in the case.
"Jessica Alfaro has put seven innocent people in jail because of her testimony. It's a kind of conspiracy, so if Hubert is found innocent, it means Jessica Alfaro was lying, it means she was lying about other people in jail who've been waiting for vindication. If it's proven that Hubert was in the U.S., everybody goes free because it was a conspiracy."
Meantime, Fritz Webb also voiced fears over the impact of the supposed support that Lauro Vizconde may be getting right from within the Supreme Court.
"The only thing that worries us is, for example, three weeks ago Mr. Vizconde claimed that justices of the Supreme Court were lobbying for us, and according to him, no less than a Supreme Court justice told him this. In my book, he has admitted to having a Supreme Court justice mole."
Vizconde massacre cyber war
Vizconde and the Webbs are currently mustering support for their camps on cyberspace via social networking site Facebook.
Fritz Webb says, friends had suggested they set-up a Facebook page for Hubert, adding this was partly inspired by public support for him after the Supreme Court decided to grant their request for DNA testing in February.
"This became a place where we could put all the data which proves that Hubert Webb was really in the U.S."
Fritz Webb says documents on the site include more than 200 links, some of which are public records like the FBI report requested by the Philippine government, which says Hubert was in the U.S. between March 9, 1991 to October 1992, and a note verbale signed by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright testifying to the same.
Videos of Hubert in the U.S. are also on the site: one taken in Lake Tahoe and another one in Disneyland, which was taken by a complete stranger who volunteered the video to the Webb family upon learning of the case.
Fritz Webb adds that there's also a video showing the owner of the bicycle shop where Hubert bought a bicycle.
"This guy keeps all his receipts from day one, so on the day of the crime, Hubert bought a bicycle and there's a receipt in his name that he bought a bicycle in his name in the U.S."
"We're hoping this (Facebook site) has an effect, but that's not why we put this page up. The reason is so that people who want to now the truth can find out about the truth. We've never had a venue to show everything we've presented in court."
"It's the computer age, and social media plays a big role in everybody's life, so unlike before when we didn't have a chance to show what we have and all we ask people ... to look at the story and tell it the way you want to. And if you know the story, there's only one way to look and it's that Hubert Webb was in the United States during the crime."
"I wanted to put out everything that we had so that the public could see that's not true, so anybody who's interested, who wants to see the facts, all you have to do is if you have a Facebook account is go to 'Justice for Hubert Webb' or 'Free Hubert Webb'. You'll see all the facts there and you can make up your mind."
Fritz Webb says the online support is heartwarming, and gives his brother reason to hope.
"He'd like to find out what the decision is. It [the wait] must be torture for him. Hopefully, he does get out and I don't know how happy we'd feel when he does get out."
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