Lacson, NBI in ‘battle of probes’

The Senate and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are now locked in a battle of probes.

Three days after NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco filed charges against Sen. Panfilo Lacson for alleged perjury in the filing of statements of assets and liabilities (SAL), it was the turn of Lacson to call for a Senate investigation of Wycoco for airing "false charges."

"Last Friday, we were witness to a plethora of lies, deception and disinformation by the NBI director meant to degrade a member of this chamber," Lacson said in a privileged speech.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. supported Lacson’s call for Wycoco’s investigation, saying the NBI chief also erred in making public pronouncements of charges that are supposed to be confidential, such as the filing of a complaint against Acsa Ramirez, a Land Bank of the Philippines cashier, for alleged violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

In a privileged speech, Lacson refuted Wycoco’s claim that he did not file his SALs for the years 1995, 1997 and 1998.

Lacson also said that contrary to the claim of Wycoco, he included in his 2001 SAL an investment of $100,000 in the US-based Orient Light Forwarding Co.

The senator said that days after the supposed filing of the perjury case against him, he still had to receive a copy of the complaint.

Lacson said Wycoco managed to swim in both political rivers in the 1998 presidential elections, reporting to both Jose de Venecia and Joseph Estrada.

He claimed that the administration has unleashed its "attack dogs" to "annihilate" him, through a series of stories about his supposed criminal activities, including drug trafficking, protecting drug lords and kidnapping for ransom.

Lacson said that he took possession of the latest narcotics order of battle and his name was not on it, thus belying assertions that he was involved in any way in illegal drugs.

He added that the handbook listed a certain Michael Say as a level 2 drug trafficker. He recalled that First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo had identified one Michael Say as the one who commissioned the services of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) in the amount of P180,000, which greatly improved the approval rating of President Arroyo.

Lacson, however, could not say if the Michael Say in the narcotics order of battle was the same Michael Say who commissioned the SWS survey.

He said that is something he would be interested to know from Mr. Arroyo.

"If I was involved in kidnapping for ransom, how come the Filipino-Chinese community continues to warmly support this representation in every way they can?" he asked.

He said that Wycoco lied about not having any mansion in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, and that the latter was not qualified to be an NBI director as he was neither a member of the Bar, not had at least 10 years experience as an investigator.

"If the country is in stupor, we can only blame it on a national leader who has been campaigning to be elected as president of this republic since the day she grabbed power last Jan. 19, 2001," Lacson said. — Efren Danao