Ping apologizes to Barbers over money launder raps

Sen. Robert Barbers said yesterday Sen. Panfilo Lacson has apologized for the tirades the neophyte lawmaker unleashed against him.

"All’s well that ends well. He came up to my room and said he was sorry. Sabi niya, ‘Pasensiya ka na, hindi ko naintindihan ang report sa akin’ (He said ‘forgive me, I didn’t understand the report that was told to me’)," Barbers told reporters.

Barbers said Lacson thought he was already opening an inquiry into the alleged $750-million foreign bank accounts of the former Philippine National Police chief even without evidence yet from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Barbers chairs the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs.

Justice Secretary Hernando Perez earlier said the NBI is waiting for documents on the alleged Lacson accounts from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is looking into the allegations.

But Barbers said he has assured Lacson that the money laundering allegations against him would no longer push through if the DOJ does not submit evidence by the end of June.

Barbers said he gave the ultimatum because his committee could not wait for the documents "forever."

"So OK na iyon. Nagkamayan na kami (So everything’s OK. We shook hands)," Barbers said.

At the session hall on Monday, Lacson refused to approach Barbers, who had delivered a speech attacking Lacson’s attitude toward a colleague.

Lacson accused Barbers, a former Manila police official, of conniving with Perez and NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco in pinning him down on money laundering and other charges leveled against him.

Last year, military intelligence chief Col. Victor Corpus told lawmakers that Lacson had millions of dollars stashed in secret bank accounts in the United States, Hong Kong and Canada, and said the information he got came from the FBI.

Corpus said the money came from payoffs from international drug syndicates.

Perez and Wycoco said they would be able to secure from the FBI certifications of the accounts in a month’s time.

Lacson then blew his top, accusing Perez and Wycoco of trying to blackmail him. He told reporters it was "unmanly" of the two to accuse him without proof.

Using crass language, Lacson added that Perez and Wycoco might as well give Barbers a share of the money if they ever find any.

Lacson charged that Barbers was biased in favor of Perez during the investigation into Corpus’ allegations that Lacson was involved in kidnapping and drug trafficking, summary executions and money laundering during his stint as chief of the PNP and the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force.

Barbers took offense upon learning of Lacson’s statements, including the neophyte senator’s discourtesy of addressing him only as "Barbers."

In his speech, Barbers said he had never been involved in the affairs of the DOJ and the NBI. He also asked Lacson what he did to deserve his statements.

After Barbers’ speech, Lacson stood up to say that he would not react so the Senate could proceed with its work. Barbers, however, brushed it aside.

"He could not speak because he could not deny what I said. Everything that I said was well documented," Barbers said.