MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said they had no choice but to lift the manhunt for Senator Panfilo Lacson after the Court of Appeals had dismissed the appeal filed by the Office of the Solicitor General seeking a reversal of its earlier ruling clearing the senator for the death of the late publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito and nullifying the arrest warrant issued against him.
“If that is what is decreed in the resolution of the Court of Appeals, then I have no choice [because] that is a court of law…we need to respect that,” De Lima told reporters in an interview Monday at the Department of Justice (DoJ). She said she had yet to receive a copy of the resolution.
The appeals court’s 6th division, in a resolution promulgated March 18, said the nullifying of the arrest warrant against the senator is “deemed final and executory.”
“The nullification of the arrest warrants is hereby declared immediately executory. All the respondents, their agents, any peace officer or law enforcer or anybody acting on their behalf are permanently enjoined from enforcing and implementing the arrest warrants issued in Criminal Cases Nos. 10272905 and 10272906,” the appeals court said.
The Justice chief said that with the appeals court decision, only the high court can reinstate the arrest warrant.
De Lima said they still have to study their next course of action once they receive a copy of the resolution.
She added that she would also talk to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula about the possibility of also informing the International Police (Interpol) about the Court of Appeals decision.
Lacson has been included in the Interpol’s red notice after the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 issued a warrant for his arrest last year. With the red notice, he can also be arrested by the authorities in the country where he has been hiding.
“I think, before he can really come back, the Interpol red notice should be lifted, otherwise kahit saan siya makita puwede siyang ipahuli (wherever he’s sighted he can be arrested). I need to discuss that with Director Gatdula,” De Lima said.
On February 3, the appeals court cleared Lacson reversing the finding of probable cause of the Manila Court.
Probable cause is a reasonable belief that a person has committed a crime.
Lacson, through his counsel Alexander Poblador, in his petition before the appeals court said that the Manila court’s finding of probable cause was based solely on the Feb. 13, 2009, affidavit of former police officer Cesar Mancao.
Mancao, in his affidavit, said he had heard Michael Ray Aquino and Lacson while inside a vehicle discussing about a purported plan to “neutralize” Dacer.
Poblador said Mancao’s comment dated November 11, 2010, however, said that he only learned of the “sordid affair ex post facto (from after the action.)”
The lawyer said Mancao’s admission is consistent with the testimony of another prosecution witness Glenn Dumlao who attested that Mancao knew nothing about the plan.
The appeals court, in its decision, agreed with Poblador saying Mancao “is not a credible and trustworthy witness. Under oath he contradicted himself on material points. Inconsistencies and material contradiction affect the credibility of Cezar Mancao and the veracity of his statements.”
It added that the testimonies of Mancao showed “beyond a penumbra of doubt that extraneous factors or other persons may have influenced him.”
The appeals court also noted that the allegation of Dacer’s daughters Carina Dacer, Sabina Dacer-Reyes, Emily Dacer-Hungerford and Amparo Dacer-Henson that the senator masterminded the killing of their father because he had opposed his appointment to the Philippine National Police “is nothing but an inference or conjecture not supported by substantial evidence on record.”
Lacson has been hiding since the Manila court issued the warrant for his arrest in February 2010.