After attacking Estrada, Lacson implicates Villar

Fresh from political combat with the Estrada family, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has reopened a fight with presidential aspirant Manuel Villar, accusing his fellow senator of conspiring to produce a new witness that would link Lacson to the Dacer-Corbito double murders. That makes two presidential front runners that Lacson, who withdrew from the race months ago, has attacked in the media in the last week, fueling speculation publicly raised by Senator Jinggoy Estrada that Lacson is being used by Malacanang to destroy oppositionists gunning for the presidency. Lacson claimed on Saturday that Villar could be involved in the Dacer camp’s plan to present a witness who will testify that she saw Lacson arguing with Salvador “Bubby" Dacer at a resort in Batangas province a week before the publicist, and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, disappeared in November 2000. The senator said Villar could have used his influence on former Batangas governor Armando Sanchez for the latter to “produce" a new witness for the case. Lacson claimed that Sanchez “is a supporter" of Villar’s Nacionalista Party (NP). “Ang nakita kong connection, Batangas. Doon sila madaling kumuha ng testigo … Baka nga ang labandera, kubrador yan eh (The connection I saw was Batangas. They could easily get a witness there. For all I know, this laundrywoman is just a bet collector there)," he said in an interview over dzXL radio. Sanchez is being linked by his political opponents to the illegal numbers game jueteng – an accusation that the former governor repeatedly denied. Lawyers, too Lacson also said that Sanchez is a client of Ferdinand Topacio, the lawyer of former police officer Cezar Mancao, who tagged the senator in the killings. “Si Topacio, abogado ni Armand Sanchez, partido NP, tagasuporta ni Manny Villar. Kaya pag pinagkawing mo, makikita mo talaga merong motibo eh (Topacio is the lawyer of Armand Sanchez, a supporter of Villar’s party. If you really connect the details, you will see that they really have a motive to do this)," Lacson added. Lacson also claimed that the Dacer family’s counsel, Demetrio Custodio, once served as Villar’s lawyer in the latter’s land dispute cases in Bulacan. “Pagkaalam ko siya minsan ang tumayong abogado sa mga kaso mga land dispute ni Sen. Villar noong araw pa sa Norzagaray ( I think he once stood as the lawyer of Villar in the latter’s land dispute cases in Norzagaray)," he said. On Friday, Custodio said the Dacer family would present a new witness who will testify that Lacson was seen with Dacer in Batangas. Custodio said that although the testimony would only be “circumstantial evidence," it would corroborate accusations linking Lacson to the twin murders, which happened when the senator was National Police chief and head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force during the Estrada administration. Far-fetched But Villar’s camp brushed aside Lacson’s allegation. “The issue is so far-fetched. Tinatawanan na lang namin ‘yan (We just laugh it off). It’s untrue," Judith Sto. Domingo, NP media officer, told GMANews.TV on Saturday via text message. While Villar’s spokesman, Gilbert Remulla, admitted that Sanchez is a friend of the presidential aspirant, he said: “I think his (Lacson’s) comments are a little too far-off." “Senator Lacson has ran out of people to point fingers to. He is pointing fingers now on someone whom he failed to pin down in the C-5 issue. Having failed, now he wants to falsely accuse Sen. Villar again hoping to continue his political assassination," added Remulla. Topacio and Custodio also dismissed Lacson’s accusations. “I think Sen. Lacson is already desperate. Kawawa naman (How pitiful). He is beginning to imagine things. He is just afraid of his own shadow," said Topacio. "Kapag lumabas na hindi ko kilala ‘yang witness na ‘yan (If its is proven that I do not know the witness), he (Lacson) has to resign from the Senate," he added. For his part, Custodio denied having any links with Villar. “I was never the lawyer of Sen. Villar," he said. - GMANews.TV