Ping defers speech vs Erap

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson deferred for Monday his privilege speech on the “bad side” of former President Joseph Estrada, saying he needed to consult his lawyers first to avoid legal problems.

Estrada earlier said he was not bothered by what Lacson had to say because he had nothing to do with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

He pointed to Lacson as the one who had knowledge of Operation Delta, supposedly hatched to silence PR man Salvador “Bubby” Dacer.

Lacson said he would not exactly say that Estrada masterminded the double murder, but he questioned why the former president knew about Operation Delta.

“First of all, how did he learn and what was his basis for saying I supervised Operation Delta? Mabuti siya alam niya may Operation Delta. Ako sa diyaryo ko lang nabasa iyan eh. Bakit niya pinapasa sa akin ang sisi tungkol doon? (Good for him he knows there was Operation Delta. In my case I only read about it in the newspaper. Why is he passing the blame to me about that?)” the former national police chief-turned-senator said.

Lacson clarified that he would deliver the privilege speech on Estrada as a government official so that the public and his colleagues in the Senate would be enlightened on the true character of the former president.

He said he served under Estrada so he could picture the kind of official he was.

“Because the election in 2010 is near, this is also relevant for the people to have good information on who the real Joseph Ejercito Estrada is. I will not even touch on the personal aspect,” Lacson said.

The senator said he would not lie or fabricate stories and would just say what he should as regards Estrada.

“I will tell the truth and prove it,” Lacson said.

Estrada’s son, Jinggoy, who is Senate president pro tempore, said he would stand up and defend his father if Lacson would pin him down.

“It depends on what he is going to say. I can interpellate him, or I can deliver a privilege speech,” the younger Estrada said, adding his father did not have anything to do with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.