Palace backs reinvestigation of Dacer-Corbito case

MANILA, Philippines -  Malacañang yesterday expressed support for a reinvestigation of the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, citing possible political motivation at the time charges were filed against Sen. Panfilo Lacson during the Arroyo administration.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Department of Justice (DOJ) could lead the reinvestigation of the case, with Lacson expected to cooperate with the new probe.

Lacierda added Malacañang would allow the DOJ to pursue the necessary charges, including against those who gave Lacson refuge while in hiding for more than a year.

Lacierda though said Lacson could not be compelled to reveal the names of those who helped him.

“With respect to the reinvestigation, we agree that we have to look into the case again because this was filed during the Arroyo administration. We know that he is a nemesis of the Arroyos so it was a case that was fraught with political bias,” Lacierda said.

“But that is just on our part... we would prefer that we study this again so it will not be tainted with politics... there were concerns that Sen. Lacson was being pinned down by the past administration, now we will really see,” he said.

Lacierda said they would leave the reinvestigation of the case to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

He said the reinvestigation could be done by the DOJ even after the decision of the Court of Appeals quashing the warrant of arrest against Lacson would be appealed before the Supreme Court.

“The DOJ will have to do the reinvestigation because they are the ones who will handle the preliminary investigation (as part of) criminal (law) procedure,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the petition for certiorari to be filed before the SC would be from private complainants.

As public complainants, Lacierda said the DOJ could commence a reinvestigation on the matter and “we would like to really determine what happened to this case.”

Not yet off the hook

Lacierda said Lacson could still be part of the reinvestigation as a suspect. The senator was accused of masterminding the killings but has denied any involvement.

Lacson himself acknowledged the principle of double jeopardy would not apply to him if ever he would be charged again since he was not arraigned during the initial stages of the prosecution of the case.

Lacson maintained he was innocent, which was why he fled the country because he believed he would not get a fair trial under the Arroyo administration.

“I understand that he’s willing to undergo reinvestigation. So he is prepared to defend himself and again, this is a question of whether the administration of justice will be fair under this administration, and I can guarantee Sen. Lacson that he will have a fair administration of justice under Secretary De Lima and under the Aquino administration,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said De Lima was only doing her job when she announced her move to go after the coddlers of Lacson.

Lacierda said De Lima was just curious on how Lacson was able to travel to several countries notwithstanding that his passport had been cancelled.

“That’s something that Secretary De Lima would like to know. But short of that, it’s up to Sen. Lacson if he wants to reveal and apparently, he has already made a stand not to reveal it and we will leave it at that,” Lacierda said.

As far as the Aquino administration was concerned, nobody helped Lacson, Lacierda said.

“In fact, as you have seen the actuations of Secretary De Lima, she has been very concerned about the whereabouts of Sen. Lacson. In fact, she’s been trying to locate him that she’s been asking the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to do so. Certainly, we did not aid him at all during his times of hiding... we’re very certain of that,” he said.

Lacierda said De Lima would have to deal with the case of Lacson and his supposed coddlers abroad even without the help of the senator.

Secret to grave

Lacson said he has no intention of revealing his protectors during his 14 months as a fugitive. He vowed to take this secret with him to the grave.

Lacson turned down De Lima’s call to reveal his protectors, saying it would be useless since the case against him had already been dismissed by the Court of Appeals.

“We have what is called the fruit of the poisoned tree because the decision quashing the warrant of arrest has been issued and the Court of Appeals has stated that there was no basis to the findings of probable cause by the lower court so it would no longer be relevant for me to reveal who protected me,” Lacson said in Filipino.

“What is their purpose, to go after them? They don’t even have sufficient basis to continue their investigation against them,” he added.

Lacson said he made the promise not to reveal the identities of the people who helped him during those 14 months because he wanted to protect them.

“I promised myself and I made the same promise to those who helped me that I will take that secret with me to the grave,” he said.

He also argued the Philippine government has no jurisdiction over those people who helped him abroad even if they harbored a fugitive.

Lacson said De Lima should focus her investigation on how law enforcement agencies that were tasked to hunt him down came up empty-handed.

“Shouldn’t she just ask the law enforcement agencies? She should ask the ones who are searching and not the subject of the search,” he said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said they would conduct an investigation to identify the supposed coddlers of Lacson.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said an investigation should be conducted to determine how Lacson was able to evade arrest for more than a year.

“It would be hard to say something without knowing the truth. I think it would be important to have an investigation to get to the bottom of the matter,” Cruz said.

Cruz said the PNP was not remiss and exerted all efforts to track down Lacson.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine Consulate General officials in Hong Kong, Xiamen and Macau did not issue travel documents to Lacson, even for his return to the Philippines.

DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said it could not be determined if the travel documents used by Lacson were fake.

Whodunit

De Lima, on her part, dared Lacson to reveal what he knows on the Dacer-Corbito killings.

“He (Lacson) told a press conference and an interview over a radio station that he knows. He has inkling on who’s the real brains, the real mastermind. So if he knows, why doesn’t he tell us?” De Lima said. – With Marvin Sy, Pia Lee-Brago, Sandy Araneta, Cecille Suerte Felipe