Lacson takes cases to Supreme Court

MANILA, Philippines - Embattled Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday urged the Supreme Court (SC) to nullify the charges of murder filed against him by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

Lacson, through his lawyer Alexander Poblador, urged the high court to issue a temporary retraining order (TRO) and enjoin the DOJ from pursuing the case, which he claimed had political undertones.

Poblador filed a petition before the SC claiming the DOJ lacked probable cause in filing the murder complaint against Lacson.

Poblador alleged the government prosecutors exercised grave abuse of discretion in filing the murder case to harass the senator.

According to Poblador, the only apparent basis of the DOJ to indict Lacson was the Feb. 1, 2009 affidavit of former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao II.

Poblador said the DOJ panel of prosecutors secured the affidavit signed by Mancao while he was in detention in the United States awaiting extradition.

Mancao made the affidavit directly implicating Lacson in the November 2000 murders of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Mancao was a former operative of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) under the operational control of Lacson, then chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“The allegation of Mancao is false and will not suffice to show conspiracy. At best it would show that Lacson was informed but not part of it,” Poblador said.

Poblador said the DOJ, in conducting the preliminary investigation, took over jurisdiction of the case from the Manila Regional Trial Court where it had been pending since 2001.

“The DOJ had made a prejudgment and is not an impartial body to conduct an investigation,” Poblador pointed out.

Poblador said they had also filed an omnibus motion before the Manila RTC to dismiss the case against Lacson for lack of probable cause.

Alex Avisado, another lawyer for Lacson, claimed it was obvious that Malacañang had influenced the filing of the case to implicate and pin down the senator.

Avisado maintained the evidence against Lacson was weak, including the documents and testimonies of witnesses.

He said it would be difficult for the DOJ to pursue the case even with Malacanang’s interest to harass Lacson.

Avisado claimed they have information that President Arroyo and her allies would still push through with the case even in their last six months in power.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal, for her part, said the murder charges filed against Lacson were politically motivated.

She said the evidence gathered against Lacson were all based on hearsay and “adulterated.”

“This (murder charges against Lacson) is a tragic travesty of justice. This shall, however, be an opportunity for Lacson to finally clear his name of these charges,” Madrigal said.

Face the music

Malacañang also said the charges would give Lacson the opportunity to clear his name over the murders.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Lacson should stop blaming politics for the filing of murder charges against him, and “simply follow the lawful order of things.”

Remonde emphasized the developments in the case only came about because of the available testimony and evidence gathered by the prosecution.

“The accusation of the camp of Sen. Panfilo Lacson that the filing of this case is politically motivated is sounding already like a broken record, a broken record of all the warped CDs of the present,” Remonde said.

What is happening with Lacson right now, Remonde said, is the law catching up with the lawmaker after several decades of supposedly being beyond its reach.

“Perhaps we should also ask: Are they saying this because they could not accept the fact that he has always been in power since martial law? And as such, he felt that... he’s beyond the pale of law?” Remonde said.

Remonde stressed Lacson is still presumed innocent until proven guilty.

He said Lacson should just follow the process and defend himself instead of resorting to squid tactics and claiming political vendetta.

“He (Lacson) should face the music. I mean he should face the case as squarely as people who also faced his accusations,” Remonde said.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera also stressed there is nothing political in the filing of charges against Lacson.

Devanadera said the decision of investigating fiscals to file two counts of murder against the senator was “based merely on evidence and testimonies submitted during preliminary investigation and was not in anyway influenced by political considerations.”

“It’s easy to accuse the government of that, but in the end, it will be the evidence that should speak for itself. Our panel of prosecutors, on the basis of evidence, found probable cause for the double murder against Senator Ping Lacson,” she said.

Devanadera also rebutted claims of the lawyers of Lacson that the DOJ resolution charging the senator with the murders is weak and based on conflicting statements of the senator’s two former police subordinates, Mancao and Glenn Dumlao.

“These conflicts were explained by them (Mancao and Dumlao). What is important is how it was explained by the affiants,” she explained.

Lacson has long been critical of the Arroyo administration and consistent in his numerous exposés against the President and her family.

Lacson primarily accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of corruption and President Arroyo of electoral fraud in the 2004 elections. -With Marvin Sy, Edu Punay