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DOJ chief: P2-M bounty may be placed on Lacson's head


(Updated 5:05 p.m.) Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said she would support the Interior Department's possible recommendation to offer a P2-million reward for any information leading to the arrest of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, key suspect in the killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito a decade ago. "I am endorsing that proposal, but it is not yet approved," De Lima said at a news briefing. She, however, clarified that there are no formalities yet recommending the imposition of a reward for Lacson's arrest. She added that she does not know which office of the DILG, or the Philippine National Police, has made the recommendation to offer the bounty. The DILG is the government body that supervises the PNP. For his part, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said it was up to the concerned authorities whether to offer a bounty in connection with the hunt for Lacson. "That's the prerogative of the Secretary of Justice to put a price on the head of anybody wanted by the law," Enrile told reporters in a chance interview. Enrile, however, said that not even the Senate has the right to ask the senator to surrender. "It's very hard to give advice given the fact that that's personal to him. It's his freedom that's involved," he said. Enrile stressed that that even if Lacson's salary and office budget have been suspended, the latter remains a senator of the Republic. He also said the Senate will only scrap the budget for Lacson's office if and when he is convicted. 'Ultimatum' At the same time, De Lima said she has issued an ultimatum to a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) elite team tasked to locate Lacson. "I am giving the elite team a few days to wrap up their work, to do their job, to do their mission," she said, but did not elaborate on her exact deadline. Lacson fled the country in January this year to evade arrest, but intelligence information reaching the NBI and the Department of Justice indicated the fugitive lawmaker is hiding in the Philippines. Lacson is accused of masterminding the abduction and subsequent killing of Dacer and Corbito on Nov. 24, 2000. He was then head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) in a concurrent capacity. Members of PAOCTF reportedly carried out the killing allegedly under Lacson’s command, but the lawmaker has repeatedly denied involvement in the crime. Lacson is facing two counts of murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18. He left the country last Jan. 5, 2010, two days before the DOJ, then under the leadership of Agnes Devanadera, filed charges against him. — with a report from Kim Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV
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