IN THE ARMS OF THE FATHER - Freddie Webb hugs his son, Hubert, as the latter was released from jail. Photo by ALI VICOY.

MANILA, Philippines —  Christmas has come early for Freddie Webb and his family. Earlier this week, his son Hubert, along with five other co-accused, had been acquitted by the Supreme Court of all charges stemming from the Vizconde massacre case.

The decision handed down by the Supreme Court ended 15 years and four months of separation between the Webb family patriarch and his beloved son, a son whom he says he is proud to be the father of.

“We’re thankful because finally, they’ve said that it is enough for someone who is innocent to have been in jail for such a long time. Since day one, sinasabi na namin na he was in America. May ilan tao lang ang naniwala, pero ngayon na tumagal na ang panahon, namulat na ang mata ng tao at inaccept na ang ebidensiyang ito,” he said in a television interview minutes after the announcement of the Supreme Court decision.

But this moment of triumph has come with a heavy price, one that Webb and his family have been paying for, for more than a decade. At the height of the media coverage of the celebrated case, Webb and his family experienced being vilified by the public.

“You cannot argue, fight, discuss, try to win your case, against a man who lost his family. At that time, I was a senator. You have to remember, nandun ‘yung awa effect,” he explains. “There was one time when a man singled me out, really mad at me, kulang na lang suntukin ako.”

Even more hurtful for the 68-year-old Webb was seeing his son facing the brunt of public outrage. The memories are painful for Webb, even making him tear up during the interview.

“One time I could not forget was when he was brought to the Department of Justice for the promulgation. I was watching television nung dinala siya and I saw people slap him, spit at him, kick him. I cried,” he recalls.

His son’s involvement in the Vizconde case also ruined his 1998 re-election bid for the Senate, and robbed him and his son of the opportunity to build any memories together outside of their weekly Sunday visits to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

“He went in when he was 26. Ito ‘yung panahon na dapat gumagawa na siya ng sarili niyang plano sa buhay niya, ninakaw na ang panahon na ito sa kaniya,” he says. “‘Yung mga apo nga namin, nung pumasok si Hubert, parang tatlo lang. Ngayon sampu na.”

In the midst of all these hardships, Webb candidly admits that there were times when his faith in God was pushed to its limits.

“There were times gumegewang ‘yung tiwala ko sa Kanya, pero hindi nawawala. Kasi kung minsan pag lalabas ako, titingin ako sa langit, kinakausap ko Siya, tinatanong ko kailan ba ito matatapos?” Webb says.

And while the victory earlier this week had brought in some Christmas cheer to the former senator and his family, Webb is aware of the still torturous road that lies ahead for him and his son.

“I have thought of how to break him into society a lot of times. But I just can’t find the right answer yet. Talagang hindi ko alam,” he says.

In this 60 Minutes interview, Freddie Webb recalls all the bitterness he and his family had to take - from the media coverage to the public’s indignation – to finally get to where they are now. But perhaps most importantly, Freddie Webb talks about how even with 15 years taken and never to be returned, he still has hope that a life destroyed can still be rebuilt.

“The important thing in life is not what you have lost, but what’s left of it. Ang importante kung ano ‘yung natitira. I am proud to be the father of Hubert,” he proclaims. (Ronald S. Lim)

(The following interview was held three days before the Supreme Court handed down the decision acquitting Hubert Webb and five other co-accused.)

STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES BULLETIN (SCB): What verdict were you expecting?
FREDDIE WEBB (FW): I was expecting an acquittal primarily because of the evidence that we have presented. We have the documentary and the testimonial evidence. The most important piece is the document that was signed by Madeleine Albright, an authentication of Hubert’s arrival in the United States on March 9, 1991, and leaving the US on October 26, 1992. No less than Madeleine Albright, you cannot not give this value. If you don’t give it value, para mong sinampal ang Amerika.

The truth was on paper. He was there. A good three months before it happened, Hubert was already in the US. And a good one year and four months, naiwan siya.

The other thing which is of great value, humingi ng tulong ang ating NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), through a guy named Robert Heafner, the legal attache of the US Embassy. Ang FBI, when they investigate, it’s exhaustive and what did they say?

They said that Hubert Webb worked for a company called Environment First Termite Control Company, tiningnan nila ‘yung record book, parang ledger, kasi Hubert was on call, kapag kailangan, tatawagan siya bago pupunta sa mga bahay.

He had three cheques all for the month of June. The FBI took a sample of the cheques and found out that they were authentic, they were accurate, and that it was Hubert Webb that signed it. I’m presuming that they compared the signature of Hubert on the cheque and in his passport.

SCB: Did they check also with the people Hubert was supposed to have been with in the US?
FW: The FBI also went to the house where Hubert stayed in Anaheim, California. We have Gary Valenciano saying that he saw Hubert in the US. Gary Valenciano cannot be bought. He testified na nakita niya.

Going back now, sabihin mo na “Nasaan siya nung June 30?” Alam mo, lo and behold, merong Diyos. You know why? I left on June 28, precisely to visit him. June 30 ‘yung Vizconde massacre. When I arrived, I called Justice Antonio Carpio, then my consultant to tell him where I was staying and my number. He knew that I left precisely to visit Hubert, he knew that Hubert was there not because he saw him, but because I was talking about Hubert. Sabi ko, “Tony, itong anak ko, ang laki ng katawan ngayon, ang lakas kumain, this guy is in shape.” What would be my purpose, we’re talking on June 29, the crime was going to be on June 30. Ibig sabihin bobolahin ko si Carpio to cover up our tracks?

Pero on June 30, we went to a guy by the name of John Pavlisin, who owned a bicycle shop. Hubert and I bought a Cannondale bicycle, with a serial number.
Etong si John Pavlisin, lahat ng record, hindi niya tinatapon. He went back to it, showed the FBI, verified the receipt with the name of Hubert Webb. Kaya naman nilagay sa pangalan niya, aalis ako, kapag may nangyari sa bisikleta, makukuha niya. Masuwerte rin. What did the FBI say? As far as our investigation is concerned, it is legitimate. Bingo, June 30, he was there.

Who else saw him there? A woman by the name of Sonia Rodriguez. We were together with Sonia, myself and my wife in Calesa Bar sa Hyatt doon sa America, kasama si Hubert. That’s why these people went out of their way to come here, we didn’t pay them anything to testify, because they knew that there was an injustice happening.

SCB: So where did the story of Jessica Alfaro come from?
FW: Aren’t you amazed?! The guard who said he saw that guy, and remembered how he looked, 1995 lumabas. He was investigated by the police, Alfredo Lim, he never said anything about Hubert or about cars coming in and out. Pagdating lang ni Alfaro, bigla na lang naalala na lang pala niya ‘yung tatlong kotseng papasok-pasok. He should have said that before.

‘Yung sa maid? The agency testified in court, sinabi na maid nila Webb ‘yan, pero umalis po ‘yan before the Vizconde incident, umuwi ng probinsiya. Then after two or three months, sometime between August or September, bumalik sa mga Webb. Statement ng maid, nilabhan daw niya ‘yung duguang damit ni Hubert. Are you crazy? You kill someone, then you take off your clothes and tell someone, labhan mo nga ito? Use your coconut!

Second, sa statement ng maid, she goes to our rooms at four in the morning to pick up all the clothes. Ako? Bago ako matulog, sinasarhan ko ang lahat ng kuwarto ng anak ko, natatakot ako baka may pumasok. Nobody wakes up at four a.m.. For the sake of argument, ginawa niya, there’s another thing na nagkamali ‘yung maid.

Sabi niya, nakuha niya daw ‘yung damit na duguan nung June 30, nakita daw niya ako nagbabasa ng diyaryo. How can you see me when I was in the United States on June 28? We presented my passport, ‘yung stamp, all that stuff. Eto pinakamatindi na.

Anong sabi nung maid? Sabi ko sa abogado namin, tanungin niya kung may nakita siyang mga alikabok na nanggaling sa langit nung June. Anong sagot niya? Wala po. Impossible, because that was during Pinatubo. Lahat ng katulong ko, lahat ng security, naglilinis, punong-puno ang BF! She cannot remember because she was in the province.

SCB: There was allegedly another maid that served juices to Hubert and friends at 5 a.m.?
FW: That’s not true, because there was no other maid that testified. There’s only one. They wanted somebody to corroborate, but the maid never went to court, natakot na, dahil alam niyang masama ‘yung gagawin niya.

There was only one, a girl named Mila Gaviola. She was really our maid. But the thing that is important was if she was our maid in June, during the time of the Vizconde massacre. No, because months before she had left for the province, and a good six months after, she came back. Ikaw ba naman, kung nalaman mong may pinatay, bakit ka pa babalik sa amin?

At saka nag testify ‘yung agency, sinabi na hindi namin maid nung panahon na iyon. Binalewala lahat iyon.

SCB: So to what would you attribute all these people who came out as witnesses for the prosecution?
FW: That’s a very good question. Ikaw kaya, puntahan ka ng NBI, takutin ka, kapag hindi ka tumestigo, sasaktan ka. I think that maid was coerced.

Second, the witness protection program is good and bad. ‘Yung mga tao, para lamang ma-enroll diyan, pumapayag na witness sila kasi may monthly allowance. Tapos papadala ka sa America. Maybe that was what caught the interest of the maid. But definitely the maid was lying.

SCB: Did you use the media to launch a PR campaign to ensure an acquittal?
FW: Let me put it this way. Did I invite you? You invited me. I’m not using you. I have never asked the media to interview me. It is in their interest to find out the truth. Sabi nagbabayad daw ako. Wala pa akong binabayaran na media personality.

My mistake in this case was we withheld our voices. Hindi namin ibinuga ‘yung aming ebidensiya. Ang sabi ng abogado namin, pagdating sa hearing, biglain natin sila. (Pulls out Hubert’s driver’s license from his wallet) That is June 14, 1991. Sa Amerika, hindi ka makakakuha ng lisensiya kapag wala ka dun. That means he was there. Nung nangyari ‘yung Pinatubo eruption, almost one week, wala tayong flights in and out. There were no flights until June 21. Nine days, all you have to do is check those nine days if he came home to the Philippines. They did not, because they knew he was really in the US.

SCB: Did you ever hold a grudge against the media at the time, especially at how the story was presented?
FW: You cannot argue, fight, discuss, try to win your case, against a man who lost his family. At that time, I was a senator. There was a time when a man singled me out, he was really mad at me, kulang na lang suntukin ako. Hindi ako kunsintidor, pinaglalaban ko ‘yung bata, kung ano ‘yung tama. Paano ako magiging kunsintidor, ‘yung anak mo nakulong ng 15 taon.

Napakadaling hulihin kung hindi totoo ‘yung alibi na nasa Amerika. But we had all these documents, none were found to be erroneous, tampered with.

Everything was in order. The people that testified, 40 of them, they testified that either they knew Hubert Webb on March 9, some saw him there. If he didn’t go to the States, how come nobody testified outside of Alfaro and the maid? Eh ang hilig maglaro doon ng basketball ng anak ko eh. All of the people that he was playing basketball with testified na hindi nila nakita nung mga buwan na iyon dahil nagpaalam pa at nagkaroon pa ng party, despedida. Nung dumating, nagkaroon ng bienvenida party.

Pangalawa, pagdating, ano ang pinagawa ko? Pinapunta ko sa NBI, nagpa fingerprint. Ikaw ba, kung alam mong may kasalanan ang anak mo, gagawin mo ‘yun? Papaiwan mo na lang sa Amerika, hindi mo pauuwiin kasi delikado.

SCB: Were there efforts on your part to find out who really did it?
FW: That’s not our job. That’s the job of the police. They bungled the job. They should not have filed this case in the first place. If only they went out of their way to check out papers in the United States but they did not. They relied on the two conflicting affidavits of (Jessica) Alfaro. Sayang, nagpunta kayo sa bahay niya, dapat tinignan niyo kung merong ilaw sa labas ng poste. Bakit ko sinasabi? Sinabi ni Alfaro sa courtroom, sa affidavit niya, sinabi niya raw kay Pyke (Fernandez), lumabas ka ng sasakyan, batuhin mo ‘yang ilaw na ‘yan para mabasag. Pagpasok natin sa loob ng bahay, madilim. Paano mangyayari ‘yun, wala ngang ilaw. Nag-testify ang Meralco, there’s no light. Hindi ko lang alam kung meron na ngayon kasi 15 years na, but at that time, when this case was going on at 1995, the crime happened in 1991, there was no light up to 1995.

Pangalawa, sabi ni Alfaro, pagkatapos noong nagkaroon na ng patayan, tumakbo na sila, sumakay na sila sa kotse. Lumabas sila sa kabilang gate. There is no other gate, in and out of the subdivision, isa lang. ‘Yung sa dalawa lang na ‘yun, alam mo nang nagsisinungaling siya.

Pangatlo, sinabi niya, tinawagan daw ni Hubert. Paano tinawagan? May cellphone ba si Hubert noon? 1991? Konti pa lang may cellphone nun. Tapos tinawagan daw niya si (Gerardo) Biong to clean up the mess. Nakakaawa si Biong. Bakit? Mahirap na tao lang ‘yan. It could have been easy for him to become a state witness yet, he did not agree. Ano ang kanyang partisipasyon? Allegedly he burned the evidence. That qualifies him as an accomplice to the crime. The only crime that Biong committed was negligence.

SCB: When we talked Mr. Lauro, he alleged that a relative of your wife confirmed that Biong was your driver?
FW: Did my relative testify in court? He has to say who this relative is, because there is none. Why don’t you go to Biong and ask? Driver at bodyguard ko raw si Biong. Biong does not know how to drive, does not have a license. How can you be a driver? Biong is so thin, kukuha ba ako ng bodyguard na payat? Mas malaki pa ako sa kanya. Ngayon ko lang narinig ‘yan. Iba na naman ang istorya. Hindi niya sinasabi noon.

Alam mo kung ano ang gusto kong mundo, kapag nagsinungaling ka, magdi-disappear ka. O kaya ‘yung Panginoon ang ating judge, haharap tayo. I know if I die tomorrow, I can face God because what I’m saying is the truth. If my son dies, at least he did not commit any crime or murder. Sabi nga niya sa akin, I don’t know what God’s plan is for me because I would not have been in jail for 15 years, where nothing good is gonna happen about this. Maybe it is God’s way of saying that you’re not the only one who is jailed and behind bars who is innocent. Maraming tao diyan pero wala ka namang makakausap diyan na magsasabing may kasalanan sila. Lahat ‘yan.

A family's devotion
SCB: What are your thoughts every time you visit National Bilibid Prison and every time you leave Hubert behind?
FW: You know how hard it is to leave your son after you visit him and think na baka may mangyari. He’s there with 10,000 people and yet, you don’t even know kung sino-sino ‘yan. May isang loko diyan na saktan siya, tapos na.

SCB: How is Hubert?
FW: He will never be ok because I know inside his mind is the simple question, what am I doing in jail? You can never say he’s ok. But I will still thank God because He has protected him from harm. The Lord has protected our family, to be loving to each other, to be more appreciative of what God has given us.
One thing we realized is the little moments we have together, especially every Sunday. My wife wakes up early, early in the morning. Before 5 a.m., gising na ‘yan kasi mamamalengke na siya. Siya ang magluluto, siya ang mapre-prepare. The hardships that we go through, many people don’t know. In our lifetime, we probably have the saddest moments, but we also have our happiest.

SCB: Your son is in prison and you can still get to visit him. That doesn’t compare to losing one’s family, to Mr. Vizconde’s pain.
FW: It would be ok if he did something wrong. But he did not. So what have we got to do with that? We have nothing to do with the loss of his family.

SCB: Where is your wife Elizabeth in all these?
FW: Siya ang nagdala. My wife is the strongest. She sets the tone, she sets the example. Sasabihin niya sa mga anak namin, hindi ka na kailangan tawagan, once a week lang ‘yan obligasyon mo sa kapatid mong nagdudusa. Ang bait ng wife ko. That is where we draw our strength from, my wife. How can you not love someone who is a very simple woman? Asawa ko hindi mahilig bumili ng damit o lumabas. Gusto nun parati sa simbahan. Sabi ko siguro kung hindi mo ko napakasalan, madre ka na ngayon! (Laughs)

Learning to trust again
SCB: Did you even think it would drag this long?
FW: I never even thought that this thing was going to happen, that for 15 years he would be in jail. We both are aggrieved parties. They are pointing at an individual who happens to be my son, who could not have committed the crime because he was 7,000 miles away.

SCB: When the trial was ongoing, if it were a movie, it’s obvious that Hubert would be convicted. At the back of your mind, were you sort of expecting that you’d lose the case?
FW: Yes, especially when the spokesperson of the court started to read the motion, the findings. Inuulit-ulit ‘yun. Freddie Webb is powerful, moneyed and has good connections. Let me tell you, sino ba ako sa Amerika? I don’t know anybody in the FBI and yet, palalabasan, ‘yan malakas ‘yan dun. Hindi mo magagawa ‘yun. This was a celebrated case, so the US Embassy knew that there was a certification coming from Washington, why didn’t the US Embassy say, hey foul, fake ‘yan. They kept quiet because it’s true.

SCB: Why did you take part in the process when at the back of your mind, this was not going to end well?
FW: If you won’t trust the system, I don’t think it’s fair to the rest of the people that trust it. You will come across judges like (Amelita) Tolentino, but not everybody is of the same kind. There are a lot of judges that are fair. She was biased, she was unfair. She has given a ruling to put my son behind bars for the rest of his life.

SCB: Do you regret trusting the system then?
FW: As I said, you will meet very, very few people like her. I think her ambition was to get to the Court of Appeals, she got it.

Hubert, in the eyes of his father
SCB: The people only know about the Hubert being portrayed by the media, by Jessica Alfaro, but who is the real Hubert?
FW: He is my son. ‘Yan ang batang even up to now, hindi palahingi. Kaya nung nakulong ‘yan, everything he would ask for were the simple things, shoes, shorts, slippers, and shirts.

SCB: When he was convicted, did you ever blame yourself for anything?
FW: I should not have been a politician. If Hubert was a son of an ordinary person, he would not have been convicted. I would stop at that. I don’t want to go into the details of why this thing happened. In due time, when I talk to my Creator. I hope and pray, on Christmas, we will celebrate it at our house instead of the compound where we can’t even bring a camera.

Everything happens in God’s time. Remember that. I’m not trying to be popish here or anything. With all of what we’ve gone through, we are blessed.

SCB: That’s what you realized?
FW: Yes. We’re blessed because like Hubert, not everybody gets this chance, to have this kind of an experience. We have first-hand experience of having a son that has gone through this horrendous nightmare. Yet, he survived it. And the good part about it, he has asked me, Dad if there’s one thing I’ll ask you to do is to forgive those who have wronged us.

SCB: Hubert has forgiven?
FW: Hindi naman marunong magalit ‘yun.

SCB: Do you think it is still possible to go back to normal after so many years?
FW: The important thing in life is not what you have lost, but what’s left of it. Ang importante kung ano ‘yung natitira. I am proud to be the father of Hubert.

SCB: During the early days of conviction, did you blame anyone?
FW: Of course, I blamed Justice Tolentino, I blamed Alfaro for lying. It’s painful. People also should learn their lesson because kung pababayaan mo na lang, papano ‘yung mga ibang kasong hahawakan niya. ‘Pag nainis siya, nagalit siya, she will be very biased. I don’t know what I’m going to do but I hope this experience stays with us, and nobody should go through this harrowing experience. Buti kami nakatayo pa. Kung yung iba ‘yan, natumba na.

SCB: Do you feel vindicated that the perception of the media now towards Hubert is much more favorable?
FW: I don’t know if it’s favorable. I think media finally opened their minds to the reality. You know when he was brought to the Department of Justice, sa promulgation. That was the one time I could not forget. I was watching TV and I saw people slap him, spit at him, kick him. And I was watching. (Pauses) I cried. Because my son…(covers his face with his hands and cries).

You know after that I didn’t get mad. Sabi ko kung hindi ko alam ito baka isa din ako sa mga sumisipa diyan eh. (Still crying). These are bad memories.

Two fathers
SCB: As a father, do you also feel the sorrow that Lauro Vizconde feels?
FW: He lost his family. I am with him. I grieve with him. I feel the sorrow of the father. But I also feel the sorrow of a father for his son, because my son has been in jail for 15 years for a crime he did not commit.

SCB: Any opportunity that you talked to Lauro Vizonde?
FW: I was watching him on television, sa interview, galit daw siya sa akin. Sabi ni Arnold (Clavio) sa kanya, baka meron kang mensahe kay former Senator Webb, birthday niya ngayon. Ah ‘yan, galit ako diyan. You know I was surprised. Bakit ho kayo galit? Kasi nung nagkita raw kami, inabot raw niya ‘yung kamay niya sa akin at hinampas ko raw, hindi ako nakipagkamay. That never happened. I never saw him after the promulgation. I see him on television, but we never bumped into each other.

SCB: Galit po ba kayo sa kanya?
FW: Hindi. He is just forcing himself to believe something which isn’t true. Kasi ang basis niya, I don’t know if he said this to you, that he went to some psychics and manghuhula, and it came out na si Hubert daw.

SCB: Do you have a message for Lauro Vizconde?
FW: It’s very hard because I didn’t experience the kind of sorrow that he is having. Napakalungkot na mawalan siya ng pamilya.

SCB: That’s what he was always saying, na hindi dapat kayo i-compare kasi magkaiba ang pinagdadaanan niyo.
FW: Yes, but the worse part of it is I am not even asking for comparisons. We’ve gone through two hardships. My son lost 15 years of his life for a crime he did not commit. That’s the message. If he continues to think that Hubert is the criminal, then that is his problem. But you know if he would only take time out to analyze, because he was there everyday at the hearing.

A new day
SCB: If Hubert does go out, ang laki na nang pinagbago ng mundo, how are you preparing him?
FW: I have thought of that a lot of times. But I just can’t find the right answer yet. Talagang hindi ko alam. Right now, first things first, I just want him out. Let’s see how I’ll break him into society. When you’re in for 15 years, pare-pareho ang kausap mo. Pag gising mo ng umaga ‘yun din. Kapag matutulog ka, ‘yun pa rin ang kasama mo.

SCB: Is he involved in anything inside the prison?
FW: Parang mayor siya dun. He’s a sportsman. He gets involved in basketball and tennis. Siguro kung hindi nakulong ‘yan, kahit papaano baka nakapaglaro ‘yan. The guy is a fighter. Siguro God-willing, he gets out of jail, first thing that we will do, of course is to go straight to church. The next morning, hopefully we’ll bring him to a doctor, because lahat ng ngipin niya halos sira na lahat, 15 years without a dentist. Tapos ‘yung skin asthma niya. Siguro sa 15 years na nakulong siya, four times kami na tumakbo diyan na may dalang doktor, with an oxygen. I told him, humingi tayo ng permiso para pumunta sa doktor. Ayaw niya, kasi baka kapag lumabas siya, makita niya ang isang mundo, baka ayaw na niyang bumalik.

SCB: To whom is he closest to?
FW: Fritz and Jason kasi magkakasama sila sa kuwarto. Lalong lalo na si Fritz kasi ‘yung anak ko na ‘yun never absent ‘yun.

SCB: When you visit him, do you show how you really feel?
FW: Pag bumibisita kami sa kanya, no, we only have three hours. The secret is you please each other. You never show sadness. Palaging masasaya kami. Pero pag palabas na kami, we don’t look back. We go straight. (Laughs) Kasi when you look back you will see him walking back to his cell. And you know, sa 15 years hindi ko pa nakita na nagalit ‘yan, sumama ang loob. I only hope na sana he will meet someone that will take care of him, someone who will love him as much as he loves her. Kasi he’s already 41. It’s not easy to find. But he knows what he wants. For all you know he might never get married. (Laughs)

SCB: Sir, marami pang single diyan. (Laughs)
FW: Inuunahan ko na (laughs). Bahala ka diyan, buhay mo ‘yan.

SCB: For the last 15 years, where do you draw your strength?
FW: We talk to our Creator, we talk to God. There were times gumegewang yung tiwala ko sa Kanya, pero hindi talaga nawawala. Kasi kung minsan pag lalabas ako titingin ako sa langit, kinakausap ko Siya, tinatanong ko kailan ba ito matatapos? Kawawa naman kasi ang anak ko, lalong lalo na pag nakikita ko na punong puno na siya ng sugat. Sabi nga sa iyo, sa lahat ng pangyayari, it’s because God knows best. May plano Siya. Sabi nga ni Hubert, ano kaya ang plano ng Panginoon sa akin. Sabi niya when he goes out, he’d like to talk about this, hindi para maawa sila kundi para lang malaman nila ‘yung istorya na kahit anong daanan mo, malalampasan mo dahil may pamilya ka na masasandalan. We’re a family. Napakahirap pag wala kang pamilya, mag-isa ka.