Lacson snubs DOJ hearing on kidnap, murder raps

Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Panfilo Lacson failed to appear before the Department of Justice yesterday for the preliminary investigation of the kidnapping and murder charges filed against him.

However, Lacson’s lawyer Sigfried Fortun was present and asked state prosecutors to grant his client 10 days to submit a counter-affidavit.

Lacson ran for the Senate in last Monday’s elections and an unofficial count of the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has placed him at No. 8 among the 13 possible winners.

Fortun manifested to Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera III, and State Prosecutors Mary Josephine Lazaro and Misael Ladaga, that Lacson was unable to appear and file his counter-affidavit because of some election-related problems.

The three-member investigating panel gave Lacson "10 non-extendable days" to respond to the accusations of Mary Ong, alias "Rose Bud," an asset of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).

The prosecutors also ordered Fortun to put into writing his motion that similar charges filed against Lacson at the Ombudsman be consolidated with those pending at the justice department.

Ong had accused Lacson and 12 other former PAOCTF officials of the kidnapping and murder of a number of Chinese and Hong Kong businessmen.

Fortun also represents Lacson’s co-accused, police Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino.

Lacson’s other co-accused asked and were granted five days to file their counter-affidavits. They included Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Acop, and Senior Superintendents John Campos, Teofilo Andrada, and Ricardo Watanabe.

No lawyer represented them at their preliminary investigation yesterday.

On the other hand, Senior Superintendent Francisco Villaroman, and Chief Inspectors Avelino Abogado and Meddel Fone failed to respond to the summons from the justice department and were said to have waived their rights to rebut the accusations against them.

Five other accused did not receive the summons because their reported addresses were wrong. They included Dennis Ventura, lawyer Denn Tuvera, Ralph Tuvera, Joey Ramirez, and Senior Inspectors Julius Mana. –Delon Porcalla