Sympathizers financing my Singapore trip — Lascañas

MANILA, Philippines - Retired Senior Police Officer 3 Arthur Lascañas, a self-confessed Davao death squad (DDS) member, yesterday admitted getting financial assistance from people sympathizing to his plight for his stay outside the country.

He was responding to Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s query on Monday about who was financing the costly travel and other expenses being incurred by Lascañas and his family in Singapore, when the whistle-blower on President Duterte’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings during his time as Davao City mayor was already jobless.

The former Davao City policeman said that the senator, of all people, should understand his situation.

“He was being pursued by the authorities when he left because of fears for his safety,” Lascañas said in a statement provided by the office of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

Lascañas was referring to the time Lacson went into hiding to evade arrest for what he said was political persecution from the administration of former president and current Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

For 14 months, Lacson was in hiding and only returned when Benigno Aquino III assumed the presidency in 2010.

“Many people believed in him (Lacson), that what he was doing was right and so, they helped him escape,” Lascañas said.

“It is the same with me. Many people believe and sympathize with me, and that is why they are helping me,” he added.

The other day, Lacson revealed that Lascañas was already staying in Singapore even before he testified before the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs last March 6.

Even before hearing the testimony of Lascañas, Lacson had raised his doubts about his credibility.

Lascañas previously testified before the Senate committee on justice and human rights last year, where he denied the existence of the DDS.

Last March, he told the Senate committee on public order and safety that then mayor Duterte was responsible for the killing of hundreds in Davao City, including hard-hitting broadcaster Jun Pala.

His sudden turnaround led to doubts from several senators about the truth of his claims.

The senator earlier said perjury charges should be filed against Lascañas for changing his testimony before the Senate.

In a statement yesterday, Lacson explained that he raised the question about financiers of Lascañas “in the context of an obvious destabilization effort against President Duterte, since nobody seems to admit being involved in the scheme.”

While Lacson asserted that Lascañas should not liken his flight from the country to the former’s evasion from authorities in 2010, the senator said that he understood the predicament of Lascañas.

“Of course I understand SPO3 Lascañas’ predicament and I am not blaming or criticizing his decision to leave the country. Anybody who feels persecuted and physically threatened is entitled to make a personal decision on self-preservation,” Lacson said.

Lacson maintained that he was innocent of the Dacer-Corbito double-murder charges filed against him that were later dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2011.

“In my case, as I stated when I resurfaced after being proven innocent of the trumped-up charges thrown against me by the Arroyo administration, I chose to fight my legal battle under our country’s judicial system based on existing jurisprudence, although I refused to give my enemies and detractors the pleasure of seeing me behind bars even for a second for a crime I did not commit,” he added.

Lacson said that he has no regrets about that decision and still believes that it was the right decision given the circumstances at the time.

Probe Lascañas’ confessions, financiers

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation is looking into the crimes confessed by Lascañas when he was allegedly a leader of the DDS.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II yesterday said he has ordered the NBI to investigate the statements of the retired police officer to determine their veracity and the latter’s criminal liabilities. – With Edu Punay