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Wednesday, October 08, 2003
SC orders reopening of Baleleng rubout case
MANILA -- The Supreme Court (SC) upheld its earlier ruling Tuesday allowing the reopening of the case filed against opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson in connection with the Kuratong Bale-leng rubout incident in 1995.
Voting 8-4, with two justices abstaining and one on official leave, the High Court, sitting en banc, ruled that the case be remanded to and re-raffled by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City.
In reaction to the SC's ruling, Lacson accused Malacaņang of influencing the High Court to reject his appeal on its decision last April 1 to reopen the case.
Deputy presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo promptly denied this, saying the Arroyo administration had no hand in the SC's decision.
"We will maintain that the Supreme Court is an independent branch of government that is free from any interference from the executive branch," Saludo said.
The case stemmed from the summary execution of 11 robbery suspects of the dreaded Kuratong Baleleng gang, allegedly on orders of Lacson, then head of Task Force Habagat of the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Commission, along Commonwealth Ave. in Tandang Sora, Quezon City on May 18, 1995.
With the High Tribunal's decision to proceed with the eight-year-old case, warrants of arrest were expected to be issued by the Quezon City RTC against Lacson and 33 co-accused.
Since the case is multiple murder, a heinous crime, the suspects cannot post bail. And in this case, Lacson cannot invoke parliamentary immunity to avoid arrest, a senator said.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also said that the decision does not mean an automatic arrest of Lacson because under the Constitution, the judge has to determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant the issuance.
Lacson, who was still absent Tuesday even if the Senate resumed its sessions Monday, said in a press statement that he was not surprised by the decision.
"I'm willing to debate with Chief Justice Hilario Davide on this matter even if I'm not a lawyer," Lacson said.
He also said no less than First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo disclosed over radio dzBB last Monday that the High Court was scheduled Tuesday to hand down its ruling adverse to him.
"The fact that Mr. Arroyo has inside information on the SC ruling even though he is in faraway Saudi Arabia is an undeniable proof of Malacaņang's hand in the High Tribunal's decision to have me placed behind bars," Lacson said.
The senator was behind exposes accusing the First Gentleman of amassing wealth through illegal campaign contributions when his wife, President Arroyo, ran for vice president in 1998.
Lacson was supposed to deliver his third expose' against the First Gentleman in a privilege speech before the Senate floor Monday.
Nearly four years after the alleged rubout, the case was dismissed by Quezon City RTC Judge Wenceslao Agnir due to lack of probable cause on March 29, 1999.
But on May 29 of the same year, the Department of Justice refiled the case in the sala of Judge Theresa Yadao, this time naming Lacson as one of the principal suspects in the controversial criminal case.
Lacson countered, saying the re-filing of the case constituted "double jeopardy."
The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals (CA), which issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Yadao from issuing warrants of arrest or conducting further proceedings against Lacson and the other respondents.
On Aug. 24, 2001, the CA dismissed the case, citing that the prescribed two-year period for which to file the motion had expired.
However, the government referred the case to the Supreme Court on May 28, 2002. Last April 1, the High Court rendered a decision, remanding the case to Judge Yadao to proceed with the case.
Lacson asked for a reconsideration delaying the reopening of the case.
Sen. Luisa Estrada, Lacson's ally and wife of deposed president Joseph Estrada, described the SC's decision as a form of political harassment against Lacson.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan urged the parties involved to respect the decision of the High Tribunal and reminded Lacson that nobody is above the law.
Sens. Rodolfo Biazon and Joker Arroyo refused to comment on the matter.
In a 21-page decision Tuesday, eight justices favored the resumption of the Kuratong Baleleng case. They were Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr., Justices Josue N. Bellosillo, Romeo J. Callejo, Sr., Leonardo A. Quisumbing, Alicia Austria-Martinez, Conchita Carpio Morales, Artemio V. Panganiban and Adolfo S. Azcuna.
The four justices who opposed the reopening of the case were Justices Reynato S. Puno, Jose C. Vitug, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez.
Two justices abstained -- Antonio Carpio and Dante O. Tinga.
Justice Renato Corona did not vote because he was on official leave. Calleja penned the decision.
The reopening of the highly controversial Kuratong Baleleng case had long been awaited, but the Supreme Court had deferred it several times. Sunnex Luzon/BP/JM/ST
(October 8, 2003 issue)
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