Dacers press SC to revive murder raps vs Ping

The daughters of slain publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer are not giving up their bid to have the double murder charges against Sen. Panfilo Lacson revived. In a phone interview with GMA News Online, the Dacers' laywer, Demetrio Custodio, said they filed a petition asking the court to set oral arguments on their petition to void a Court of Appeals' decision that favored the senator. The Dacers are assailing the CA's decision that ordered the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 to drop the double murder case against Lacson and revoke the arrest warrants issued against him. Last June 14, the SC upheld the Court of Appeals' ruling that favored Lacson. The SC junked the Dacers' petition for review on the basis that they have no legal personality to question the CA's decision before the high court. The SC said only the State, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), can appeal the dismissal of a criminal case. "Only the State and its representatives may appeal the dismissal of a criminal action. That the State is the offended party in criminal proceedings is a doctrine we must uphold because it is founded on the fundamental definition of crimes and the authority of the State to exact penalties [thereof]," said the Supreme Court. The OSG had opted not to appeal the CA's decision because the Department of Justice was set to reinvestigate the November 2000 killing of Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito. The Dacers then filed a motion for reconsideration asking the SC to reverse its June 14 ruling and to reinstate the double murder case against Lacson. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMA News