Lacson questions Corpus’ reinstatement to mi

For beleaguered Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) is not even a rightful member of the military, and therefore has no business investigating him.

The neophyte senator said yesterday he would question the legitimacy of Col. Victor Corpus’ reinstatement to the AFP in 1986, citing the absence of an absolute pardon from then President Corazon Aquino for rebellion charges.

Lacson said that as a taxpayer, he may go to court to clarify the issue of the commissioning of the officer-turned-rebel as a reserve lieutenant colonel in 1986.

He contended that this was illegal since Corpus was reinstated only through a letter from then executive secretary and now Sen. Joker Arroyo. The letter, he added, was not signed by Mrs. Aquino.

Lacson pointed out that the power to commission a former member of the AFP cannot be delegated by the President.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, who was grilled by the Senate on the matter of Corpus’ authority to probe a member of the chamber, told Lacson that there was no need for an absolute pardon at the time.

Reyes explained that Corpus was convicted of rebellion charges by a military court under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and since pardon was not applicable, the ex-rebel was granted amnesty before being recommissioned to the AFP.

"This erases all his cases from memory," he said.

However, Lacson said that as far as he is concerned, "pardon and amnesty are two different things."

"A convicted felon cannot be reinstated," he said.

Malacañang challenged Lacson yesterday to bring to the proper court his questions on the legitimacy of the appointment of Corpus as intelligence chief.

"If there is any constitutional question it should be brought to court, or to the attention of the AFP. Right now, the President still has confidence in Col. Corpus’ integrity, the legality of his recommission and his performance," Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said.

Corpus left the military in 1971 to join the communist New People’s Army but later returned after realizing he had taken "the wrong path."

For his part, Arroyo said the letter on Corpus’ reinstatement had been approved by Mrs. Aquino.

As executive secretary, Arroyo said, he was signing most of Malacañang’s communications since the President could no longer do so herself.

He added that the Palace would have been paralyzed if the President would have to sign all the communications herself.

In a related development, the opposition Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PnM) warned the Senate to be cautious in swallowing statements of witnesses so far presented by Corpus.

PnM spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Indian national Danny Devnani, former police asset Mary Rose "Rosebud" Ong and ex-civilian agent Angelo "Ador" Mawanay are vulnerable to coercion and other forms of pressure.

Former President Fidel Ramos said there was nothing illegal in the commissioning of Corpus to the reserve force.

"To his credit, he persevered to get back to active service through the reserve force even when his classmates were already two ranks higher in the regular force," said Ramos, who once served as AFP chief.

Goodbye, Mawanay

In another development, it appears the Senate has seen the last of controversial government witness Mawanay.

Arroyo, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, and Sen. Robert Barbers, chairman on the committee on public order, said they would no longer want to hear the testimony of the civilian agent in forthcoming hearings.

"I’d rather not call him to another hearing. His testimony is rambling," Arroyo said.

Barbers said he would rather hear from someone who can discuss things "without getting anybody emotional."

Mawanay, one of the witnesses of the ISAFP against Lacson, claimed to have been an agent of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), which was once headed by the senator.

The witness claimed to have personally witnessed numerous illegal activities by PAOCTF men, including summary executions and planning for kidnap activities.

Mawanay also said he was involved in the delivery of illegal drugs on orders of Lacson.

He raised eyebrows when he claimed to have delivered 1,000 smuggled cellular phones to Sen. Loren Legarda.

While Barbers and Arroyo had some misgivings over Mawanay, they were all praises for Ong, a former agent of the Narcotics Group of the Philippine National Police and later the PAOCTF.

"She appeared very credible and said she had the papers to prove her testimony," Barbers said.

Ong claimed Camp Crame was the country’s center of drug trafficking in 1998 and the highest ranking police officials were directly involved in drug trafficking themselves.

"She spoke in a deliberate straightforward manner. There was no hesitation in her answers," Arroyo said.

Meanwhile, Reyes cleared Corpus of any responsibility in spiriting out Mawanay from his detention cell at the Senate on Aug. 17.

The defense chief told senators during the question hour that it was a case of "honest miscommunication" since the ISAFP thought there was already clearance for Mawanay’s temporary release.

Supreme Court steps in

The Supreme Court directed Lacson and Manila Judge Hermogenes Liwag yesterday to explain why the kidnap-for-ransom cases, which were subsequently stopped, should not proceed.

The two, along with Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, were given 10 days to rebut the argument of state prosecutors that the DOJ cannot be barred from investigating the case.

Solicitor General Simeon Marcelo and the DOJ, represented by Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera III, had asked the SC to nullify Liwag’s June 25 freeze order, which prohibited government lawyers from investigating Lacson and 13 others.

In a 39-page petition for review, prosecutors told the SC that the DOJ had been deputized by the Ombudsman to investigate offenses of government officials, contrary to Liwag’s ruling. – With Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano, Rey Arquiza, Non Alquitran