Lacson tags De Venecia men behind Kuratong Baleleng raps

Senator Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Senator  Panfilo Lacson insinuated on Thursday that the camp of former  Speaker  Jose de Venecia  Jr. might be behind the  multiple murder charges  filed against  him  in connection with the alleged Kuratong  Baleleng  rubout in 1995.

Lacson was head of the Task Force Habagat under the office of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), which was being headed by then  Vice President  Joseph Estrada.

At that time, he said, Estrada was a shoo-in for president in 1998 and his political opponents used him to get to the former vice president.

“Noong panahon na yan siyempre, kung sino ang kalaban sa pulitika ni dating Vice President Estrada, yan talaga ang nagpipilit na palabasin na rubout  at sila ang nagpupurisgi makasuhan kami hoping madala ang controversy kay Vice President Estrada para makaapekto sa kanyang kandatura noong 1998 (At that time of course, Estrada’s opponents were trying  to make it appear that it was a rubout and  they were  really working to have us  charged in court in the  hope that the  controversy would lead to Vice President Estrada and affect  his candidacy),” Lacson said

Asked who was Estrada’s opponent that time, the senator said, “Si JDV (de Venecia’s initials) ang kalaban, pero sila sa administration  so sa kanila ang poder at sa kanila ang impluwensya. So I would say yung mga kasamahan nila nagfa-fan ng apoy para hindi mamatay ang kaso. At masasabi ko dahil privy ako sa mga ibang pangyayari ang target noon si Vice President  Estrada.”

(JDV was the opponent, but his camp belonged to the administration so they have the power and influence, So I would say his men keeping the case alive. Since I’m privy then to what was happening, I can say that the target then was Vice President Estrada.)

Lacson said  he had  no  proof that  De Venecia himself was involved  but said  he was told by the late general Jewel Canson, one of the  accused  in the   case,  someone from the camp of De Venecia  had told him  to implicate him in the hope  that he would pin down  Estrada.

De Venecia ran but lost to Estrada in the 1998 presidential election. Three years after, Estrada was ousted in office because of corruption allegations.

Seventeen years since the filing of the Kuratong Baleleng case, the Supreme Court upheld Wednesday a lower court’s decision, absolving  Lacson and other  respondents of any criminal liability.