Supreme Court denies Dacers’ petition for review vs Sen. Lacson

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied the petition of the daughters of slain publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer against Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, saying they were not party to the case and that only the Office of the Solicitor General should file the petition.

“The Supreme Court third division has denied the petition filed by the Dacers against Senator Panfilo Lacson on the ground that they are not real party in interest to file the petition for review,” said high court Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez.

Marquez explained that only the Solicitor-General can file an action on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, who is the offended party in the case.

“The right of punishment and prosecution belongs only to the sovereign power. In this particular case, the State is the offended party and it is established in our criminal procedure that only the offended party may bring an action,” Marquez said, adding that the only exception is when there is a denial of due process or the State or the agent refused to file a case.

“In this case, there is no denial of due process because in the proceedings at the Court of Appeals, the private parties rigorously participated in the proceedings. They were all given the opportunity to say their side,” Marquez said.

In a petition for review filed by their lawyer Demetrio Custodio Jr., Carina Dacer, Sabina Reyes, Emily Hungerford, and Amparo Henson said the CA Special Sixth Division “denied the prosecution and the Dacer family the fair opportunity to prosecute and prove their case in trial in violation of their right to due process of law.”

The appeals court nullified the probable cause found by the Department of Justice against Lacson, who recently surfaced after more than a year in hiding.

Lacson was accused of masterminding the murders of Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000, based on the testimony of former policeman Cezar Mancao II. With a report from Marlon Ramos