Hubert seeks P180,000 for unjust incarceration

MANILA, Philippines -  Hubert Webb yesterday asked for compensation for his wrongful incarceration for 15 years for the celebrated Vizconde massacre in 1991, six months after he and six others were acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Escorted by lawyer Joaquin Miguel Hizon, Webb went to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and filed application with the Board of Claims for P180,000 in compensation.

Under the Board of Claims’ rules, among the persons entitled to compensation is “a person(s) who was unjustly accused, convicted and imprisoned and subsequently released by virtue of a judgment of acquittal.”

Under the agency’s guidelines “for the victims of unjust imprisonment, the compensation shall be based on the number of months of imprisonment and every fraction thereof shall be considered one month, but in no case shall such compensation exceed P1,000 per month.”

In a chance interview, Webb welcomed latest forensic findings in the DOJ’s reinvestigation of the crime showing that the passport he presented to prove his innocence – that he was in Orange County, California when the June 1991 murders happened – was authentic.

However, he lamented the statement of Secretary Leila de Lima that authorities have yet to verify whether it was really him who used the passport when he went to the US before the crime was committed on June 29, 1991.

“Is that really possible – that another person would use my passport? Have you been to the US or to any other country? Does it really happen that a passport is used by another person?” he asked.

Webb said he also wants closure of the case for the sake of Lauro Vizconde.

“But I hope these people would stop already and give me peace. I’m really tired with everything. I’m done with the entire process. I was convicted and acquitted eventually,” he lamented.

In its Dec. 14, 2010 decision, the SC overturned the guilty verdict handed down by the Parañaque regional trial court in January 2000 against Webb, Hospicio Fernandez, Antonio Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Peter Estrada, Miguel Rodriguez and Gerardo Biong for the crime of rape with homicide.