Cayetano: Dismissal of murder raps won't affect ethics complaint vs Lacson

The Court of Appeals' (CA) dismissal of the double murder case against fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson will not affect the pending ethics complaint filed against him at the Senate, Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said on Friday. "So far walang magiging epekto yung kaso sa CA dun sa finile sa (the CA decision won't affect the complaint filed with the) ethics committee. They're different cases and there are different courses of action," said Cayetano, chairman of the Senate ethics and privileges committee. He issued the statement after the CA granted the petition of Lacson to dismiss the double murder case lodged against him for the Dacer-Corbito killings a decade ago. Cayetano said they have always said that they would respect the decision of the court but that they would pursue the ethics complaint filed against Lacson. "The ethics case is independent of the criminal charges that were filed or whatever the CA decided and will decide on the issue," he said in a press conference in Pasay City on Friday. The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) had earlier 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 said his committee is still waiting for the comments of the other senators on the panel's rules on how to tackle the complaint. "We have given them a deadline... we will meet next week or wait for some of the comments," he said. However, he assured both Lacson and VACC that there will be a fair trial. "They will always be given a fair trial and due process in the Senate. No one is above the law, even the Senate," he said. Under the Senate rules, the Senate may punish any of its members for disorderly behavior and with the concurrence of the chamber's membership, suspend or expel any of its members upon the recommendation of the ethics committee. The Senate had earlier suspended the salary and office budget of Lacson, at least until he can "resume" performing his duties. Earlier in the day, Lacson's lawyer Alex Poblador and his batchmate Senator Gregorio Honasan said they were clueless when Lacson will surface. Honasan also said the senators will meet on Monday to decide what to do with Lacson’s office, which has been closed since October last year. - VVP, GMANews.TV