MANILA, Philippines — Presidential bet Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said he is not guilty of having a hand in Kuratong Baleleng massacre and double-murder case of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito, citing the weakness of the evidence against him.
"Napatunayan ang korte at talaga wala akong kinalaman... Napaka-flimsy ng ebidensya," he said during an interview on "The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews" which aired on Saturday evening.
(The courts have proven it and that I had nothing to do with the cases... the evidence is flimsy.)
'They cannot arrest me'
"Andoon talaga 'yung injustice na ginawa sa akin at hindi ako papayag na makita ni Ginang (Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo at that time na nasa likod ng rehas at nakakulong not even for a second. Kaya tinaga ko talaga sa bato [na] 'hindi mo ako mahuhuli. Lalabanan ko 'yung kaso ko in the best way na legal naman that I can.'"
(There was injustice that was done to me, and I made sure that Mrs. Arroyo wouldn't see me not even for a second behind bars and that I am jailed. So I made a commitment that they will not arrest me. I defended my cases in the best legal way that I can.)
In 2001, the then-military intelligence chief Col. Victor Corpus accused Lacson of participating in the summary execution of 11 members of the Kuratong Baleleng robbery group. Corpus claimed there were at least five witnesses, including the leader of the police team which Lacson allegedly tasked to kill the Kuratong Baleleng members.
Years later, the Supreme Court cleared him of the case.
Lacson was also previously accused by a ranking police officer of being one of the brains behind the kidnap-slay case of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Manuel Corbito.
On Saturday, the senator claimed that the people who went against him in the past due to the two cases, have apologized for their actions. They include former military intelligence chief Victor Corpus who claimed that he had enough evidence to indict Lacson for the 1995 Kuratong Baleleng case, and former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao who was once identified as having been linked to the Dacer slay case.
Lacson is the top presidential bet of the Partido Para sa Demokratikong Reporma. His running mate is Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III.