Lacson denies bribing Mancao

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday denied that he tried to bribe Cezar Mancao II into withdrawing his testimony against the lawmaker for the killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000. In a statement released by his office, Lacson said Mancao, his former police subordinate, and his lawyer may be "turning desperate" because former Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao's recent statement in court supposedly "demolished" Mancao’s "fabricated" claims. "The fact of the matter is, the court testimony of Glenn Dumlao has effectively demolished Mancao’s fabricated testimony against me. That’s why Mancao and his lawyer are on desperation mode," said Lacson, who fled the country early January to escape alleged persecution by the Arroyo administration. On Tuesday, Mancao claimed that Lacson's camp had been attempting to bribe him to make him to recant his testimony and implicate other personalities as the mastermind in the November 2000 killing of Dacer and Corbito. “I don’t accept bribes, so why would I offer a bribe?" said Lacson, who was concurrent National Police chief and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) at the time of the killings. "Mancao is conveniently fabricating these lies to benefit himself. He implicated Senator Lacson so he can get out of prison in the US and go back to the Philippines — all expenses paid at that. And now, he is accusing our camp of trying to bribe him into recanting a testimony which was already shattered in court," added Lacson’s lawyer Alex Avisado Jr. 'Pure speculation' Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Francis Escudero, and Gregorio Honasan likewise said Mancao's bribery claims are pure speculation at this point. "You have to remember this is all speculation, any assessment as to whether Senator Lacson is capable of that is highly premature. We don't even know it happened," Marcos told reporters on Wednesday. Escudero and Honasan also dared Mancao to present proof of the bribery attempt. "These are issues that warrant proof... this muddles the case," Honasan said in an interview with GMANews.TV. Both Honasan and Lacson belong to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1971. For his part, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri appealed to Lacson to resurface, saying that the Senate will make sure that he is given "due process." Mancao is under the NBI's protective custody because he is still listed as an accused in the Dacer-Corbito killings. However, he is also under the Witness Protection Program because the Justice Department's Task Force 211 considers Mancao a state witness. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMANews.TV