Lacson assured of 'fair' trial at Senate

Senate Minority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday assured fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson that he will be given fair treatment once the proceedings on the ethics complaint filed against him begin. "The committee on ethics will be fair and everyone will be treated fairly," said Cayetano, who heads the Senate committee on ethics and privileges. Cayetano issued the statement after the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption filed an ethics complaint against Lacson for his failure to surrender himself to proper authorities; fleeing the country to evade arrest; and his continued absence from the Senate sessions. Cayetano, however, clarified that he hasn't read the complaint yet. He said they still have to wait for the document to be referred to their committee, which hasn't been formally formed yet. He said they still haven't settled the membership of the ethics committee. "Di natin inexpect na agad magkakaroon ng trabaho ang ethics committee (We did not expect that the ethics committee would immediately have work)," he said. He likewise said they still have to decide the committee's rules, specifically whether they will conduct the proceedings confidentially. "It will really be depending on majority of the members of the ethics committee and what the sentiments of the other senators are... but we are aware that people want transparency in the proceedings," he said. Lacson is alleged as the principal suspect in the killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito on Nov. 24, 2000. At the time, Lacson was concurrent head of the Philippine National Police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, the unit implicated in the twin murders. Lacson fled the country on Jan. 5, 2010, two days before the Department of Justice – then headed by Agnes Devanadera – filed two counts of murder against him before Branch 18 of the Manila Regional Trial Court. A month later, the court issued an arrest warrant against him. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already canceled his regular and diplomatic passports on the grounds that he is a "fugitive from justice" as provided by the Philippine Passport Act of 1996. Lacson's legal counsel could not be reached for comment as of posting time. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV