Lacson: I leave my fate to God

Embattled presidential hopeful Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who could face arrest over the reopening of the May 1995 Kuratong Baleleng rubout case, said yesterday he was leaving his fate to God.

"I am somewhat fatalistic. Marunong akong tumawag sa Diyos, bahala na siya sa akin," he told ABS-CBN’s Korina Sanchez in an interview.

Referring to his presidential aspirations following the Supreme Court decision to reopen the Kuratong Baleleng case that could lead to his arrest, as well other roadblocks he may encounter on the way to the presidency, Lacson said he would be able to reach the top post if God wills it.

"Kapag ginusto ng Diyos na makarating ako doon, kahit pasirku-sirko makaabot ako (If God wills it, even if I stumble several times, I could get there)," he said.

Lacson said that the refusal of Justice Romeo Callejo to inhibit himself from Supreme Court deliberations on the Kuratong case, although he voluntarily recused himself during his term as Court of Appeals justice during the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s consideration of the case, is highly suspicious.

"For consistency, he (Callejo) should have also inhibited himself now. Worse, he even became the ponente despite our motion for him to inhibit," Lacson said.

He indicated that the high court’s decision to revive the Kuratong Case was tainted with politics and that some people he did not name were out to scuttle his presidential ambition.

"Pero sana ako na lang ang habulin nila. Huwag na nilang idawit ’yung hindi pulitiko (Let them target me and spare those who are not politicians)," he said.

When asked if he was referring to former police officers Michael Ray Aquino and Cesar Mancao, he said "yes."

Lacson, along with Aquino, Mancao, Chief Superintendents Jewel Canson, Romeo Acop, Francisco Zubia, Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao and 31 other police officers were indicted for the murder of the suspected robbery gang members on May 18, 1995.

The senator used to lead Task Force Habagat of the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Commission which was then headed by then Vice President Joseph Estrada.

The group arrested then allegedly summarily executed 11 gang members along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Aquino and Mancao have fled the country and are believed to be hiding in Canada or the United States.

The principal witness against them, Senior Police Officer 2 Eduardo de los Reyes, had recanted his testimony and migrated to Canada with his family.

Other witnesses, among them tabloid reporter Armando Capili and Jane Gomez, also recanted their testimony.

Although Lacson did not name those he claimed were running after him, his publicists last week accused the Arroyo administration of pushing for the reopening of the Baleleng case.

Responding to another question, Lacson said he did not want to speculate on what prompted Aquino and Mancao to flee the country.

"In my case, I have faith in our justice system. I think justice will eventually prevail," he said. "It is not the end of the world. We will exhaust all legal remedies to enlighten the justices of the Supreme Court."

Lacson said he would file a motion for reconsideration over the latest Supreme Court ruling.

He claimed he was puzzled by the high tribunal’s reversal of its previous ruling that the case could no longer be reopened citing the two-year prescriptive period.

"Why would such a prescriptive period apply to other cases and won’t apply to Lacson’s case?" he asked.

The opposition senator expressed hope that the Supreme Court would correct itself and uphold the "principle of the law and its own rules."

Lacson expressed surprise by the complete turnaround of Chief Justice Hilario Davide and Justices Joshue Bellosillo, Vicente Mendoza, Artemio Panganiban and Leonardo Quisumbing who were part of the earlier 13-0 decision to remand the case to the Quezon City court to determine if proper procedures were followed in its provisional dismissal in 1999.

Lacson’s spokesman, lawyer Rufus Rodriguez, branded the SC decision as "highly questionable."

"On its face, it’s highly questionable. It was the same court that ruled in May 2002 that the trial court (in Quezon City) should determine if the requirements on the final dismissal have been met. They (SC justices) reversed themselves," Rodriguez said.

"It’s a 180-degree turnaround. It’s lamentable," he said, adding the only remaining available remedy for Lacson is to file a motion for reconsideration, pointing out that the SC ruling did not state if it was "final and executory."

Rodriguez was not able to say if the ruling was tainted with politics but noted the high court handed down its decision a day after Lacson declared he would not back out of running in next year’s presidential elections.

Lacson said his lawyers would invoke the time-honored principal in the retroactive application of newly enacted laws in favor of the accused.

He cited the case of actor Robin Padilla whose original sentence of life imprisonment for firearms possession was reduced after passage of a bill filed by Sen. Ramon Revilla reduced the penalty for the offense. - With Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano