Lacson may present evidence in Arroyo plunder case

(Updated 3:39 p.m.) Senator Panfilo Lacson is willing to present additional evidence that will support the plunder complaints filed against former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “Marami pa akong dokumentong nakatago sa baul (I’ve many documents in my possession)," Lacson told reporters Wednesday at the sidelines of the inauguration of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Extension Project. President Benigno Aquino III presided over the inauguration rites. “Kaya pagsimula ng session, re-reviewhin ko ang dokumentong sa akin at titingnan ko paano makatulong (When the session resumes I will review these documents to see how they can help with the case)," he added. He also said he is communicating with someone who has expressed willingness to share documents showing anomalies under the Arroyo government. “May nakikipag-appointment sa isang meeting para magbigay ng karagdagang dokumentong sa mga bagong anomalyang na-unearth. Dating anomalya pero ngayon lang mailalabas," Lacson said. (Somebody’s trying to make an appointment with me to share documents regarding a new anomaly that was discovered.) Lacson surfaced last month after hiding for more than a year due to the double murder charges filed against him. He came out after the Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of the charges. Lacson, a former police official, was accused of masterminding the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and Dacer’s driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000. He denied the charges and accused the Arroyo administration of persecuting him for his exposés.
The latest plunder complaint against Mrs. Arroyo was filed Tuesday by former Solicitor General Frank Chavez and migrant rights group Migrante International. The complainants accused the former president and two other former government officials of diverting over P550 million worth of funds from the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA) to Arroyo's campaign kitty in 2004. It was the second plunder complaint filed against Mrs. Arroyo, the first being the one filed in August 2010 for her alleged involvement in the supposedly anomalous sale of the old Iloilo airport property in 2007. Arroyo's camp has yet to comment on the latest plunder complaint filed against the former Philippine leader until it receives a copy of the complaint. But in an interview aired over "Saksi" Tuesday night, Civil Service Commission chairman Francisco Duque III, one of the respondents in the case, denied irregularity in the use of OWWA funds. “This issue was already cleared with the [Commission on Audit] clearance and we have the proof that the money that got transferred to the Philhealth from OWWA from Medicare was long after the 2004 elections," said Duque, who also served as Health secretary during the Arroyo administration. Lacson, who was with President Aquino at the event, said he supports the current administration’s campaign against corruption. “Kasi kasama na rin [ako] sa laban sa katiwalian ni Presidente Noynoy... Kelangan ungkatin natin ang nakaraang anomalya nang sa ganoon magkaroon ng retribution, maibalik ang nakaw na yaman," he said. (I am now one with President Aquino in his fight against corruption. We need to look into past anomalies so that we can recover what had been taken from us.) Lacson, who has accused the Arroyo government of persecuting him by implicating him in a double murder case, said he is “hopeful" that the new plunder complaint against Arroyo will reach a “logical solution." “I think Juan dela Cruz deserves an explanation or two from the former president," he said. - KBK/RSJ, GMA News