Court to hear twin murder case vs Lacson Friday

The Manila Regional Trial Court will hear on Friday the double murder charges filed against Senator Panfilo Lacson in connection with the twin killings in 2000 of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito. Manila RTC - Branch 18 under presiding judge Myrna Fernandez will determine whether there is a probable cause to issue an arrest warrant against the senator. The Department of Justice (DOJ) last Thursday filed double-murder charges against Lacson based on the February 13, 2009 affidavit of former police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II where he said Lacson ordered the killing of Dacer. Lacson, who was chief of the Philippine National Police when the double murders happened, maintained his innocence and immediately asked the court to re-evaluate the evidence gathered by the DOJ. "I already filed a motion for judicial determination of probable cause with the court. I'm hoping that the court will reverse (the) DOJ on the issue of probable cause. I had long expected (the) DOJ to insist on filing the information in court no matter how tenuous the evidence is," Lacson said. Should the court find probable cause against him, the senator could not invoke his congressional immunity against arrest as the punishment for murder is more than six years, a lawyer earlier interviewed by GMANews.TV said. – Aie Balagtas See/JV, GMANews.TV