Lacson denies breaking laws in Dacer-Corbito, Kuratong Baleleng cases

Presidential aspirant and Senator Panfilo Lacson has denied breaking laws when he left the Philippines after being implicated in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

Appearing at The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews which aired Saturday, Lacson explained that his exit from the Philippines was sustained by jurisprudence which allows the accused, even those with a warrant of arrest, to leave the country.

“Nu’ng po ako’y umalis, wala pa akong warrant of arrest. Wala akong na-violate kasi wala akong hold departure order at ito ay tinanong ko sa aking abugado. I-research po natin ‘yung Tuliao case kasi maliwanag doon,” he said.

(When I left the country, there’s no warrant of arrest issued against me. I did not violate anything because there was no hold departure order. It was in the Tuliao case.)

“Kasi mayroong Supreme Court ruling, hindi po ako lumabas doon sa criminal justice system, napaloob pa rin po ako at virtually, preso rin po ako. Wala lang ako doon sa confines of the four walls ng isang prison cell, hindi rin ako malaya nakakagalaw pero nilabanan ko ‘yung aking kaso within the criminal justice system, wala po akong nilabag,” he maintained.

(There is a Supreme Court ruling, which will support that I did not go outside the criminal justice system. Virtually, I was still a criminal. I may not be inside the confines of the four walls of a prison cell that time, my movements were still restricted but I defended my case within the criminal justice system. I did not violate anything.)

Should he win as president, Lacson said he would direct the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to search and arrest those who are escaping accountability for their violations of the law.

In the same interview, Lacson expressed confidence that he is not guilty to the two cases he was previously implicated with.

“I'm looking at you straight in the eye, Jessica, napatunayan ng korte at talagang wala akong kinalaman (the court had ruled that I was not really involved),” he said.

“‘Yun talaga ang injustice na ginawa sa akin at hindi ako papayag na makita ni Ginang Arroyo at the time, na nasa likod ng rehas at nakakulong not even for a second. Kaya tinaga ko talaga sa bato, hindi mo ko mahuhuli, lalabanan ko ang kaso ko in the best way na legal naman that I can,” he added.

(That is the injustice that was done to me and I made sure that Mrs. Arroyo won’t see me at that time that I am behind bars and I am jailed for even a second. That’s why I made a commitment to myself that they they won’t arrest me. I defended my cases in the best legal way that I can.)

Lacson also claimed that those who went against him in the past, apologized to him.

“Katunayan, nag-apologize nga even [retired military general] Victor Corpus, yung handler ni Ador Mawanay, e nag-apologize sa akin personally. Nagpunta sa akin at nag-apologize siya publicly, maski yung si [ex-police officer] Cezar Mancao na madiin at sinabi niya talagang ginamit lang siya, pinilit siya ni dating Pangulong Arroyo para idiin ako, napaka flimsy ng ebisdenysa pero look alam ninyo ang ginawa,” he said.

In the same interview, Lacson defended the act of killing other people for the sake of public’s safety.

“Talagang ganiyan ang buhay. Nasa law enforcement ako, trabaho ko ‘yun para iligtas ‘yung aking mga kasama o iligtas ang aking sarili. Ito po ay naaayon sa batas kasi in self defense, we can always, you know, defend ourselves and kaysa ikaw naman ang mamatay,” he said.

(That’s how life works. I was with the law enforcement and it was my job to save my colleagues or myself. This is provided by the law because it is self defense. We can always defend ourselves.)

“Alam mo ang patakaran ko sa aking mga tauhan, mabuti na ‘yung buhay ka na may kaso kaysa doon sa napatay ‘yung kasama mo na wala kang ginawa o napatay ka na wala ka man lang ginawa para protektahan ang sarili mo. ‘Yan ang essence ng law enforcement. You have to protect innocent people, you have to protect ‘yung iyong mga kasamahan sa trabaho at you have to protect yourself,” he added.

(My advice among my subordinates back then was it is better to face charges and be alive than being letting your colleagues die because you did not do anything. That is the essence of law enforcement. You have to protect innocent people, you have to protect your colleagues, and you have to protect yourself.)

Anti-Terrorism Law

On the other hand, Lacson reassured the public that the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATA) has enough safeguards to protect human rights.

Lacson, principal sponsor of the law in the Senate, said the intent of the law was overwhelmed by black propaganda.

“Nakasigurado na po ‘yun, nakagarantiya na doon sa batas mismo, katakot-takot po ang safeguard diyan sa Anti-Terror Law, nilamon lang kami, nilunod lang kami ng black propaganda nung mga kontra dito,” he said.

(I can assure and guarantee you that the law itself has several safeguards. We were just overwhelmed by the black propaganda by those who oppose the law.)

Lacson further defended himself against critics by explaining that the law was passed by the Senate which is a collegial body.

“Alam niyo ba collegial body ang Senado, ang Kongreso. Hindi ako nag-iisa na nag-craft niyan. Ako po ay isang co-author, ako ang nag-sponsor kasi sa akin na-refer bilang chairman ng committee on national defense and security. So kailangan idefend ko, pero kami ‘yung naglagay ng katakot takot na safeguard,” he said.

(The Senate and Congress is a collegial body. I am not the only one who crafted that. I am just a co-author, I was the sponsor because the bill was referred to the committee on national defense and I am the chairman of the panel. So I need to defend the bill but I inserted several safeguards there.)

Among the safeguards provided under the ATA are the reporting of the suspected terrorists’ arrest within 24 hours to the nearest courts, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Anti-Terrorism Council.

Lacson reiterated that the provisions which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC) won’t affect the intent of the law.

“Balewala po ‘yan. Katunayan wala po sa original na committee report na sinubmit ko ‘yun. ‘Yun po ay amendment na in-introduce ng ilan naming [kasama], I remember si Senator [Franklin] Drilon ang nag-amend nun,” he recalled.

(That won’t affect the law. In fact, that is not included in the original committee report which I submitted. I think the amendment which was struck down by the SC was introduced by Senator Drilon.)

In December, the high court ruled as unconstitutional a qualifier in Section 4 and the second paragraph of Section 25 of Republic Act 11479.

Several petitions had been filed with the SC to declare the law as unconstitutional.

Petitioners warned that the law will be used against government critics.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the ATA into law in July 2020.

Lacson’s 2022 campaign centers on good governance, anti-corruption, and budget reforms.

He is running with Senate President Vicente Sotto III. — RSJ, GMA News