MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson said his alleged deal with Malacañang on the Dacer-Corbito murder case was not the reason behind the ouster of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, but rather the latter’s blunder in dealing with the return of former police officer Cezar Mancao II and his meddling in the case of a powerful business tycoon close to the Palace.
Lacson, who is being linked to the killings of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000, denied entering into any agreement with Malacañang, saying it would be worse than “signing a pact with the devil.”
The senator said Gonzalez should stop blaming him for his ouster from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Lacson said Gonzalez had displeased Malacañang by talking too much about the Dacer-Corbito case and for interfering in a case involving a business tycoon for which the former justice secretary allegedly received money.
Lacson also said it was
the members of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1978 – and not Gonzalez – who worked for the return of Mancao to testify against the senator.
PMA Class ’78 was the one that adopted President Arroyo and it was former Presidential Security Group commander Romeo Prestoza who convinced Mancao to come back to the country.
“Gonzalez had nothing to do with Mancao’s decision. He (Mancao) was promised a number of things,” Lacson said in an interview over radio station dwIZ.
Lacson said the plan of Mrs. Arroyo’s aides was to surprise him (Lacson) with the return of Mancao and not let him prepare his defense on the charges to be filed against him. But because of Gonzalez’s “strip tease” and constant talking about it, the affidavit of Mancao eventually leaked and lost strength.
Lacson added he was also able to prepare his answers and he also kept the text messages of Mancao telling him that Prestoza had been asking him to testify against the senator since September 2007.
“This is why I am saying Malacañang was involved (in seeking Mancao’s return) because Prestoza was PSG chief at that time,” Lacson said.
The senator claimed the Palace cohorts even made it appear that it was Mancao’s wife Maricar who sought the help of Gonzalez by asking her to e-mail the former justice secretary last December that her husband already wanted to turn state witness.
Lacson said this was because Prestoza and the other members of PMA Class ’78 did not want to surface and own up to what they did.
“So Gonzalez’s belief was that Mancao really volunteered to come out,” Lacson said.
Mancao flew to the United States at the height of the investigation into the Dacer-Corbito case but he ended up in prison on charges of espionage.
“Dakdak siya ng dakdak and strip tease ang pagpapahayag nya tungkol kay Mancao hanggang sa lumabas na nga yung affidavit na hindi nararapat (He kept on talking about Mancao until the affidavit came out unexpectedly),” Lacson said.
He added the affidavit and the extradition of Mancao should have been kept secret but came out in the open because Gonzalez could not keep his mouth shut.
Lacson said the “gag order” against Gonzalez that came out in The STAR was true, as Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita himself admitted, only that it was made long ago and not before his ouster from the DOJ.
Lacson said Prestoza and the other members of PMA Class ’78 were upset with Gonzalez’s style as it ruined their scheme to pin him down.
He said it was unfortunate and ironic that Gonzalez was now saying he was removed from the DOJ because he wanted to pursue the Dacer-Corbito case relentlessly.
Tycoon offended
In another case, Lacson said a tycoon apparently worked for Gonzalez’s ouster because the former justice secretary allegedly had tried to gather evidence from the powerful businessman’s own sibling.
The tycoon and the sibling had a misunderstanding and Gonzalez allegedly thought he could use the sibling’s statement against the tycoon in a case pending before the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which is already under the DOJ.
Lacson alleged Gonzalez and the sibling met and that Gonzalez received “goodwill money” for his interference.
The senator said he was informed that the alleged amount was quite small by “Palace standards” but huge enough for someone not known to be a paid hack.
“The initial indication (was that Gonzalez did the interference for) personal interest, in the sense that there was monetary consideration,” Lacson said.
“He only received a small amount, it’s like goodwill money. Pero nakatanggap siya ng kaukulang halaga at ito ay totoo (He really received an amount and it’s true),” Lacson alleged.
He said Gonzalez was allegedly expecting a bigger amount if he succeeded in pinning down the tycoon.
“Meron akong figure. Ito ay kumpirmado pero mas mainam di ko na lang banggitin (I have a figure. It’s confirmed but it’s better that I don’t mention it),” Lacson said.
The senator also accused Gonzalez of using journalist Tony Calvento to come out with stories slanted in Gonzalez’s favor.
“Who is Calvento’s contact anyway? It’s also Gonzalez,” Lacson said.
“Nililihis nila ang istorya. Pinalabas na ako nakipag-deal, ako pa gusto sisihin sa pagtanggal sa kanya (They’re slanting the story, making it appear that I made a deal. And he’s blaming me for his ouster),” Lacson said.
He said Gonzalez should realize that the tycoon must have found out about his alleged deal with the latter’s sibling.
Lacson also said the Dacer-Corbito case had nothing to do with his decision to withdraw his presidential bid.
“Those who are speculating that there could be other reasons, it’s up to them. But as for me, I have no funds to use to go around,” Lacson said.
“From the start I never had any deals with Malacañang because it’s worse than signing a pact with the devil,” he added.