Palace open to reinvestigation of Dacer-Corbito case

Malacañang is open to the reinvestigation of the high-profile Dacer-Corbito killings even as it maintained that the administration did not help Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the primary suspect in the case, elude arrest. At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda noted that the case against Lacson was filed during the Arroyo administration, of which Lacson had always been critical. “We agreed that we have to look into the case again kasi nga (because) this was filed during the Arroyo administration. Alam natin po siya ay kaaway ng mga (We all know that he was a nemesis of) Arroyo so it was a case that was fraught with political bias," he said. Asked if Malacañang is not keen on knowing if there were government officials who helped Lacson evade arrest, Lacierda categorically said nobody from the Aquino administration hid the senator. “I can certainly say that, as far as the Aquino administration is concerned, nobody helped him here," he said.

Level playing field In case of a reinvestigation, Lacierda assured Lacson of a level playing field under the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III. “We can guarantee Sen. Lacson that there will be a fair hearing on his case," he said. Lacierda said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will handle the reinvestigation. De Lima had earlier said she is mulling on calling for a reinvestigation on the twin killings of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and Dacer’s driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000. “Yung DOJ po pwede po silang mag-commence ng reinvestigation on the matter and we would like to really go to determine ano ba talagang nangyari dito sa kasong ito," Lacierda said. (The DOJ can start a reinvestigation on the matter and we would like to really go to determine what really happened in this case.) Lacson vs De Lima “I understand that he (Lacson) is willing to undergo reinvestigation so he is prepared to defend himself and again, this is a question of whether the administration of justice will be fair under this administration and I can guarantee Sen. Lacson that he will have a fair administration of justice under Sec. Leila de Lima and under the Aquino administration," Lacierda added. He also said they cannot compel Lacson to spill the beans on the personalities who helped him during the 13 months he was in hiding due to an arrest warrant issued against him. Lacson surfaced last Saturday after fleeing the country in January last year. “How can you compel someone if he doesn’t want to say it?" Lacierda said. “If he wants to reveal it it’s up to him. So we cannot compel him if he wants to reveal it or not." He said he respects Lacson’s position as it “would involve affecting people who helped him during his hiding." Lacierda, meanwhile, defended De Lima for wanting to know the identities of the personalities who helped Lacson, saying she was just performing her job. “The Bureau of Immigration and Deportation is under her, so it is understandable that Sec. Leila de Lima would be wondering how Sen. Lacson was able to go through several nations without knowing for a fact that his passport has already been canceled," he said. - KBK, GMA News