A MALACAÑANG official has advised opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson to face the double murder charges filed against him in connection with the Dacer-Corbito case instead of claiming that his case was politically-motivated.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, in a press briefing Friday, said the case of Lacson was “solely and strictly based on available testimony and evidence, not on political motives.”
Remonde said Lacson’s accusation was like a “broken record” and a “squid tactic” to befuddle the issue.
“Are they saying this (politically-motivated) because they could not accept the fact that he has always been in power since Martial Law?... Some people who are so used to be in power and some people who are being used to be beyond the reach of law are sometimes not accepting some of the things they have done will finally catch up with them,” he lashed back at Lacson.
Lacson was the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief when the murder of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito transpired. This was also during the term of ousted President Joseph Estrada who was implicated too in the case but was not charged by the Department of Justice.
Remonde said since Lacson has been in power for so long and “had Estrada as patron,” the Dacer-Corbito case has not progressed.
He, meanwhile, advised the senator to just face his case as how other people he has accused were facing theirs squarely.
“There are evidences and testimonies that have so far directly linked the good senator -- of course, we are not saying that he is already guilty because he must be presumed innocent until proven guilty – but finally, I think, all of us should breath a collective sigh of relief that finally, this issue that has festered the soul and psyche of this nation for so long has finally moving and the wheels of justice is finally grinding,” Remonde said.
“Murder is the most heinous of crimes -- more than corruption, more than anything else -- and no one should be allowed to get away of murder as no one should be allowed to get away also with any crime against the people,” he added.
On Thursday, the justice department filed two counts of murder charges against Lacson for the killing of Dacer and Corbito in November 2000.
Lacson’s lawyer claimed that the “case was politically motivated” to punish the senator for his exposes against the Arroyo administration such as the alleged corruption-tainted $330 million broadband deal and bribes allegedly accepted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from gambling operators. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)