MANILA, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 (STAR) By Helen Flores - The family of slain publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer will ask the Court of Appeals (CA) this week to reconsider its dismissal of double murder charges against fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
"We're going to submit a motion for reconsideration before the Court of Appeals within the week… if it doesn't go well at the CA we still have the remedy of going to the Supreme Court," Demetrio Custodio Jr., lawyer of the Dacer family, told reporters.
Last week, the CA's special sixth division granted the petition of Lacson seeking to nullify the Feb. 4, 2010 and July 23, 2010 orders of Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18, finding judicial probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against him.
Custodio also supported Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's statement that the warrant for Lacson's arrest is still in effect because the CA ruling is not yet final and executory.
"Ultimately it's going to be the Supreme Court that will be the final arbiter whether or not the case against Lacson should continue or not… this is the issue here, not the merit of the case. We're not talking about the guilt or innocence of Lacson, we're only talking about whether or not the case will proceed," he said.
Custodio also believes that the CA will act immediately on the MR "as this is a public interest case."
De Lima has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to continue the manhunt for the fugitive senator and cautioned them against discussing sensitive cases with media.
The NBI, meanwhile, vowed to continue trying to locate Lacson until such time that an order from higher authorities reaches their office.
"The instruction of the Secretary (De Lima) is to continue (the manhunt). Why would we not follow it?" said NBI director Magtanggol Gatdula.
As of yesterday, the warrant of arrest against Lacson issued by a Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) is still in effect.
"Our position is the warrant of arrest is still subsisting and that manhunt is still also ongoing," De Lima said. "Unless there is a categorical pronouncement in the dispositive portion of the Court of Appeals resolution that the nullification and setting aside of the warrant of arrest is immediately final and executory, I don't think they can claim that it's immediately lifted."
She said as soon as she receives a copy of the CA ruling, she would evaluate it properly to guide them on their next step.
DOJ: Lacson's arrest warrant still valid
Legal luminaries in Congress supported De Lima's position on the validity of Lacson's warrant of arrest despite a CA ruling to the contrary.
"I am not confusing the public. They (Lacson's camp) are the ones confusing the public," she told reporters in an ambush interview.
De Lima said it was Lacson, and not her, who was ill-advised as to the implications of the CA ruling last week that granted the petition of the fugitive senator and set aside the order of Manila RTC Branch 18 for his arrest.
"They are confusing it (CA ruling) with acquittal. This is just for the determination of probable cause, which is subject to a motion for reconsideration within 15 days and even to an appeal with the Supreme Court. Therefore, it's not yet final and executory," she said.
The DOJ chief also explained that the ruling of the appellate court did not state that the lifting of the arrest warrant should be immediately executory.
"I maintain that position. I think that's the correct position," she stressed.
Lacson, who is still in hiding, has accused De Lima of trying "to confuse the public with her flawed and ill-advised legal opinion" and "misinterpreting the CA ruling and overstepping her authority" in insisting on the warrant of arrest.
The senator's camp insisted that the arrest warrant was effectively nullified by the CA and should therefore no longer be implemented, even if the ruling was not yet final because of the appeals process.
But De Lima believes that Lacson's allegations had no basis.
"I was asked whether the warrant is considered lifted or whether the nullification is immediately executory, and I expressed the opinion that it is not yet immediately executory," she explained.
Legal luminaries in Congress like Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a former trial court judge, and Franklin Drilon, former DOJ chief, supported that opinion.
Both agreed that the arrest warrant still stands pending finality of the ruling of the CA and possible review of the SC.
But De Lima refused to heed the advice of Drilon that she should no longer use government resources in hunting down Lacson.
"Do you expect me to say that lawmakers should not implement the outstanding arrest warrant once he surfaces? I would be contradicting myself if I tell NBI to stop their manhunt. I would look ridiculous if I do that," she stressed.
De Lima was also apparently reacting to the statement of Sen. Francis Escudero that her statement "was better left unsaid."
The CA last Thursday ruled that the warrant of arrest against Lacson in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case was without legal basis.
It pointed out the inconsistent testimonies of accused-turned-prosecution witness former senior superintendent Cesar Mancao II that led to the dismissal of the case against Lacson.
Mancao testified that his former boss in the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) had ordered the killing of Dacer. Lacson had already denied the allegations.
De Lima said the DOJ would appeal the CA's ruling.
She met with the team of state prosecutors handling the case in the regional trial court and told them to convene a joint conference with the state solicitors from the Office of the Solicitor General who represent the DOJ before the CA.
"We have to thoroughly discuss the merits and demerits of the case and that resolution of the CA so we can come out with the proper next course of action," the Justice secretary explained.
In the meantime, she said Mancao is still covered by the witness protection program, including provisions on immunity from suits related to the double murder case, and is still considered a "state witness" by prosecutors.
Mancao stands by his testimony
Despite the CA ruling, Mancao said he is standing by his testimony that Lacson was the mastermind of the November 2000 Dacer-Corbito double murder.
"If they only examined my statements, they will realize that they were not manufactured. I was just telling the truth – what I know," he told DOJ reporters after a closed-door meeting with De Lima.
He lamented that the ruling, which branded him as a witness who has a propensity to lie, was a "big disappointment" considering the sacrifices he made just to testify.
"The propensity of Cesar Mancao to contradict himself under oath is further manifested in his statements denying any knowledge or information on the existence of the so-called 'special operations.' In his counter affidavit dated June 21, 2001 and in his affidavit dated March 1, 2007, he (Mancao) never mentioned or implicated Lacson in the so-called 'special operations'," said the CA.
The CA also cited that in his counter affidavit dated June 29, 2001, Mancao even denied meeting Michael Ray Aquino, another co-accused and also a former member of PAOCTF.
But strangely, in paragraph 7 of his affidavit dated Feb. 13, 2009, Mancao contradicted himself when he declared under oath that Lacson and Malacañang had approved and cleared the "special operations."
But through all these, the former police official said he remains hopeful the CA ruling would be reversed through the appeals process.
Mancao's lawyer Ferdinand Topacio Jr. said they would appeal the CA ruling by seeking intervention on the case. He said they would cite as basis the supposedly inappropriate action of the appellate court to assess the credibility of Mancao as a witness.
"That's not in the power of the Court of Appeals. Only the trial court can rule whether a witness is credible or not. It's not in the power of CA to decide on weight and sufficiency of evidence. That is grave abuse of discretion on the part of CA," Topacio said.
Meanwhile, Palace officials yesterday expressed support for the DOJ's position.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. declared over radio dzMM, when asked by anchors Noli de Castro and Ted Failon, that the warrant issued by the Manila court remains valid, even if the CA had quashed it.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda agreed with Ochoa's observation.
"Well, the decision is not final and executory, number one," Lacierda said, reiterating that Lacson is not covered by the principle of double jeopardy. Both Ochoa and Lacierda are lawyers.
Ochoa likewise affirmed De Lima's position that the government should have a position on the CA ruling within 15 days, either by way of a motion for reconsideration or elevating the case to the Supreme Court. – Edu Punay, Sandy Araneta, Delon Porcalla
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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