Palace, Lacson laugh off deal story

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson shrugged off allegations that his decision to withdraw from the presidential race stemmed from a purported deal with Malacañang to ease up on prosecuting him for the Dacer-Corbito double murder.

Lacson went on to accuse the writer of the story, Tony Calvento, of being a paid hack who would write anything just to destroy his credibility.

“Hindi ko dapat patulan ang baluktot na opinion ng isang manunulat na maliwanag naman bayaran para mag-imbento ng storya (I won’t bother to respond to the opinion of a paid hack who is obviously being paid to invent stories),” Lacson said in a text message.

Malacañang also denied Calvento’s article that a deal was struck with Lacson.

Presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio said the reported deal makes no sense for the administration, saying it has nothing to gain from Lacson’s withdrawal from the 2010 presidential elections.

“It doesn’t make sense. How does it benefit the administration if Senator Lacson does not run?” Claudio said.

“You don’t have to be a political rocket scientist to know that it will even benefit the administration to have more candidates in the opposition,” Claudio said.

He said the administration, Malacañang and even the newly merged political party Lakas-Kampi-CMD all have nothing to gain from Lacson’s withdrawal from the presidential race.

Calvento, in an article written for The STAR, wrote that Gonzalez’s removal from the Department of Justice may have been part of an exchange deal with respondents in the Dacer-Corbito murder case to go slow on the prosecution.

Gonzalez’s being “kicked upstairs” and the withdrawal of Lacson from the presidential race may not be a coincidence, according to Calvento.

Lacson was named among the principal suspects in the murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.

Calvento, on the other hand, said Lacson is trying to evade the issue.

“Lacson is correct. The STAR Group and company is paying me for my regular column. It is better to be paid for your advocacy than to be an accused murderer like him. The problem with Lacson is shooting the messenger (rather) than answering the issue against him,” Calvento said.

Calvento also noted that Gonzalez has threatened to quit from the Cabinet and return to his hometown of Iloilo if anyone “monkeys around” with the reinvestigation of the murder case.

Gonzalez went on to offer himself as lawyer for witnesses against Lacson once he resigns from the Cabinet.

Former senator Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, called on Gonzalez to take the cue from Malacañang and resign.

Drilon, who served as Justice secretary in the Aquino presidency, described Gonzalez as “the most partisan secretary of justice.”

“Yet it seems that he did not know what hit him. He was left in the dark. If I were Raul Gonzalez, I’ll quit given the shabby treatment to him by Malacañang, given his loyalty to the President and given the fact that he was the attack dog,” Drilon said.

“If I were him, I’ll quit. He doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment,” he added. –With Marvin Sy