No need for disciplinary action vs Lacson, says Enrile

There is no need to initiate any disciplinary action against fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said on Tuesday. Enrile said that it was not up to them but up to the court to decide whether the charges against Lacson for the 2000 twin killings of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito are true or not. "How can we discipline (him) if there's a case against him? Suppose we discipline him, and the court says he's not guilty. Then what?" Enrile said in a phone interview with reporters on Tuesday. Enrile likewise said that it is up to the Senate ethics committee when it will hear the ethics complaint filed against Lacson by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption. Enrile's comment came after Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson said that Lacson should first be expelled from the Senate before the House of Representatives expels his son, Ilocos Rep. Ronald Singson. Ronald is reportedly set to plead guilty to drug-related charges in Hong Kong. He thus risks expulsion from the House if an ethics complaint is filed against him. On the other hand, Lacson is facing double murder charges before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 for his alleged involvement in the Dacer-Corbito case. An arrest warrant has been issued against him but Lacson, who has been in hiding for almost a year now, has repeatedly maintained his innocence. Enrile admitted that aside from the court, only the Senate can exercise disciplinary action against Lacson. However, he noted that the act for which Lacson was charged happened when he was not yet a senator and that there was no verdict on his case yet, contrary to the situation of Ronald. "He (Singson) was caught red-handed, and was in fact arrested by Hong Kong police. There's no parity, there's no comparison between Sen. Lacson and the case of Cong. Singson," he said. "We should hear first ... if there's a basis to discipline him," he said. Last year, the Senate suspended Lacson's salary amounting to P36,000 a month and office budget amounting P2 million a month. His employees have likewise been transferred to different departments in the Senate, mostly to the Office of the Senate Secretary. Nonetheless, Enrile had said that Lacson is still recognized as a senator of the republic and that his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) remains intact. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/VVP, GMANews.TV