JPE: LACSON SHOULD COME HOME AND FACE CHARGES / GOVT SET TO NAB PING
MANILA, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 (STAR) By Christina Mendez - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile urged Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday to return home and answer the allegations of complicity in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.“He (Lacson) should come home and answer the problem,” Enrile said.
Enrile claimed he has no idea where Lacson is after the embattled senator gave notice that he had to leave for abroad last Jan. 5.
“I never talked to (Lacson) by phone. I just received a letter from him. And he told me that he was abroad and that he could not attend the session,” Enrile said.
Lacson left the country while the Department of Justice (DOJ) was preparing the warrant for his arrest on charges of double murder for the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito nine years ago.
Lacson released a statement admitting his escape from the country to avoid what he called “harassment” by the Arroyo administration.
Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Lacson left for Hong Kong last Jan. 5.
Noting the claims of harassment by Lacson, Enrile said that he was also subjected to harassment during the term of the late former President Corazon Aquino.
Enrile recalled being arrested while at the Senate at that time but stressed he had no qualms about the incident since it would also be an opportunity for him to clear his name.
“I was allowed to deliver a privilege speech before I left the Senate to answer my arrest, and I will do the same thing (if I were Lacson),” Enrile said.
Enrile though stressed he could not speak on behalf of Lacson or compel the senator to return home.
“It’s not my responsibility. Each senator is a free agent, I did not elect them. The people elected them,” Enrile said.
Enrile said his power as Senate president is just for administrative matters. “I handle the administration of the office but I have no control over the members of the Senate, I cannot tell them what to do or what not to do,” he pointed out.
Enrile warned Lacson that he couldn’t invoke his parliamentary immunity to evade arrest since the penalty for the crime he was charged is punishable by more than six years’ imprisonment.
“He can be arrested in the Senate. But what I am saying is that I will not allow him to be arrested in the session hall,” Enrile said.
He said Lacson would still be a member of the Senate even after eventual arrest and detention.
Enrile explained Lacson could still enjoy the perks and the budget of his office as senator because his term is until 2013.
On the other hand, Lacson’s lawyer Alex Avisado said the senator should still be considered a free man in the absence of warrant of arrest.
Avisado said Lacson did not escape the country to evade arrest but due to what his client claimed as an “evil conspiracy” to persecute him.
He said there is no reason to describe Lacson as a “fugitive from justice.”
Avisado said he is still awaiting the issuance of a warrant of arrest for Lacson.
“There is no basis to say he is a fugitive from justice because at the time he left, there was still no case filed against him and even up to now, there is no warrant of arrest issued against him,” Avisado said.
He said the case was submitted for resolution along with their motions for judicial determination for probable cause.
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Lacson made an embarrassment of government service when he fled to evade arrest.
“He is a lawmaker yet he evaded the law that his institution crafted. Why can’t he be like his former boss?” Macalintal remarked, referring to former President Joseph Estrada.
Macalintal recalled Estrada refused to leave the country even in the face of his arrest on charges of plunder following his ouster in January 2001.
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said the authorities would bring Lacson back in the event the arrest warrant is issued.
“If people somehow are able (to get) themselves out in a way that may limit the options for the government, we just have to work hard and try to get them back,” he said.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said they are ready to serve the arrest warrant once the court issues it.
NBI spokesman Ricardo Diaz said there is a possibility that the NBI will be tasked to arrest Lacson either here or abroad once the warrant of arrest is issued.
Diaz said the NBI would work under the extradition treaties with other countries where Lacson might be staying.
He said the Philippine government could invoke its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and Australia, the places where Lacson has reportedly fled to. - Christina Mendez, Aurea Calica, Sandy Araneta
Government going all out to arrest Lacson By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated February 04, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The authorities will mobilize all resources and tap international law enforcement agencies to apprehend – forcibly if necessary – Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who admitted to fleeing the country to evade arrest in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, Malacañang said yesterday.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Lacson does not enjoy parliamentary immunity due to the gravity of the charges and that the Department of Justice was optimistic that a warrant of arrest would be out shortly.
Ermita said Lacson, who is believed to be hiding in Australia, was most likely making up the story that the administration was conspiring against him to justify his flight.
“Should that (issuance of arrest warrant) happen then there are different ways of trying to reach out to the subject of the warrant of arrest,” he told a news briefing.
“The long arm of the law can be made to reach out to him through what we call the Interpol (ICPO-Interpol) connections of the Philippine government. And then, we have this legal assistance agreement with some countries,” he said.
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal, on the other hand, said Lacson was setting a bad example by escaping to another country considering that he is a senator and former chief of the Philippine National Police.
“Lacson’s flight shows disrespect to our laws and the Senate and the House of Representatives of which he is a member,” Macalintal said. “We have an abundance of laws to protect Lacson and persons similarly situated.”
“We don’t even have yet the order of the court and Lacson would say ‘it’s part of a conspiracy’ or ‘politically-motivated’ which is now becoming a familiar cliché among government officials charged with violations of the law,” he said.
Ermita surmised that it was possible that Lacson could be in a country that has an extradition treaty with the Philippine government.
The two key witnesses to the case, former police official Cesar Mancao and Glenn Dumlao, were deported because of the extradition treaty between the Philippine and US governments.
The same was the case with the extradition of terror suspects deported from Indonesia and Malaysia.
Ermita also laughed off Lacson’s allegations that the Arroyo administration was after him as he asked the senator to come up with evidence to back his claims.
“We categorically say that Malacañang has nothing to do whatsoever with this case, except that a case of such nature is to be looked into by the executive branch especially by the Department of Justice and, therefore, the procedures, the activities that the Department of Justice is doing are all in consonance with the basic legal processes following the rule of law,” he said, although noting that he was giving Lacson the benefit of the doubt as “a responsible public official.”
DOJ: No conspiracy
Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, in the meantime, said that Lacson’s indictment is not a result of conspiracy to harass the opposition lawmaker who has been vocally critical of the administration of President Arroyo.
In an interview, Devanadera refuted the allegation made by Senator Lacson that his flight was prompted by “harassment by the DOJ upon the order of Malacañang” and “conspiracy of whispers between Mrs. Arroyo and her stooge in the Department of Justice.”
“Whom in DOJ is he referring to? How can the DOJ harass him, he’s a senator?” she asked, adding that the allegations of harassment made by Lacson “will not hold water.”
She said the decision of her fiscals to file two counts of murder charges against the senator last Jan. 7 stemmed from preliminary investigation on a complaint filed by the daughters of publicist Salvador Dacer, who was killed along with his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.
“What happened here was a regular preliminary investigation where he was given ample time to answer the charges. I don’t see any reason for him to complain now when he availed of his rights during preliminary investigation and even appeared in the hearing,” Devanadera said.
The DOJ chief said the case is now in the trial court, which is a new level playing field since it is beyond influence from the Palace as being alleged by the senator.
As for the claim of Lacson that his life and security are at risk, Devanadera said the senator already has security and the government could have provided additional security from other agencies if only he had requested.
Mancao, meanwhile, called on his former superior whom he had tagged in the double murder case to return to the country and submit to the court.
“The best way to prove his innocence is through the instrumentality of the courts, which under Philippine laws incorporates numerous safeguards in favor of the accused. Flight has been, universally and since time immemorial, been considered an indicator of guilt, even if one tries to justify it with allegations of persecution or harassment,” Mancao said.
NBI: Don’t worry, we’ll get him
Through all these, however, NBI Counter Terrorism Unit chief Regional Director Ricardo Diaz assured everyone that the bureau is ready to bring Lacson back to the Philippines, either by extradition or with the help of the Interpol, should the court order his arrest.
“Of course we will act accordingly. We have an extradition treaty with Australia as far as I know, and we will ask for the help of the Interpol on this matter,” Diaz said.
When asked if they had already informed the Interpol about the matter, Diaz said it “all depends on the judge’s decision.”
But he said they are not pushing the panic button because Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez of Branch 18 has yet to decide if there is probable cause to issue a warrant of arrest against the senator.
Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said the chamber is keeping its hands off Lacson’s case.
“Well, that is his personal choice. I cannot judge him,” Enrile said, adding that the senator should be present during the voting at the session, especially on the C-5 road anomaly against Nacionalista Party presidential bet. Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. that he exposed.
“So Ping (Lacson) cannot vote. He does not have any communication with me. He wrote me and said, ‘Mr. Senate President, I cannot attend the session because I have a problem,’” he said.
Sen. Jamby Madrigal said Lacson asked for a travel permit from Enrile because he was going abroad.
“I guess this is the result of him fighting against the political persecution,” Madrigal said.
She said Lacson’s move to prepare for his defense was understandable because President Arroyo had been after him and that it was impossible for him to get fair trial under the current government.
She added that Lacson faced all the allegations against him and tried to avail himself of all the legal remedies but it was obvious that he was being politically persecuted.
“The witnesses are being asked to turn around… How can you fight foul play?” Madrigal asked.
Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, on the other hand, expressed belief Lacson was not evading the charges filed against him.
Aquino said the administration would likely push for the charges against Lacson to destroy his credibility after all the exposes he made against the administration. – Edu Punay, Sandy Araneta, Aurea Calica
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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