I thank him but I am not asking for forgiveness. I believe I am doing our country a great service by telling our people what kind of a president he was.
He is essentially good and charismatic as a person. I have no doubt about it. But he should leave leading the country to someone better than him. Our country deserves it.
If he shows some compunction, he also deserves to be forgiven.
o0o
OFFICE OF SENATOR PANFILO M. LACSON
Rm. 525, Senate of the Philippines, GSIS Building, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
Web: www.pinglacson.net Blog: pinglacson.blogspot.com
Statement Please Refer to
25 September 2009 Gerry de Belen 0923-2532364
SEN. LACSON’S STATEMENT ON FORMER PRESIDENT ESTRADA’S ‘FORGIVENESS’
I thank him but I am not asking for forgiveness. I believe I am doing our country a great service by telling our people what kind of a president he was.
He is essentially good and charismatic as a person. I have no doubt about it. But he should leave leading the country to someone better than him. Our country deserves it.
If he shows some compunction, he also deserves to be forgiven.
o0o
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Prosecution or Persecution?
Privilege Speech Delivered by
SENATOR PANFILO M. LACSON
September 22, 2009
I rise again today on a matter of personal and collective privilege.
On several occasions, I took the floor of this august hall on very important issues affecting national interest.
Jose Pidal. Hello Garci. The NBN-ZTE Broadband Deal. The Fertilizer Scam. Jueteng Anomaly. The C5 Extension Road Project Double Appropriation. The Pork Barrel Anomalies. Plus many others, the latest of which talked about Joseph Ejercito- Estrada in “Dalawang Mukha ng Sining.”
I did not have to seek out most of these anomalies. They came to me. The easiest and most convenient thing to do was to ignore them. Wala akong magiging kaaway. Tahimik pa sana ang aking buhay. But that would be betraying my oath to the Filipino people as an elected Senator of the Republic.
Perhaps no incumbent senator has had the multiple displeasure of being vilified, his reputation assailed repeatedly than this humble representation. If this is the price to pay for fearlessly contributing my share in the fight against graft and corruption in government, then so be it.
If by exposing people in high places and those in the corridors of power would mean creating bitter enemies or losing friends thus making my life miserable, I am willing to pay that price.
Which is why I was aghast at how the gentleman from San Juan, in his privilege speech in this same hall last week accused this representation of being an administration ally, simply because I exposed the true character of his father, the former president.
Everyone and his uncle know that this representation does not receive any pork barrel. I can face any cabinet official or agency head, any executive of any government financial institution or GFI, or government-owned and controlled corporation, or GOCC and before everyone in this august chamber, declare without hesitation, that I have not asked them for any government project for myself or for financial advantage.
The gentleman from San Juan also mentioned that sometime in December of last year, one of the lawyers of former P/Sr Supt Mancao sought an audience with him and requested financial assistance for his client because I have allegedly abandoned Mancao and my other former men in the defunct PAOCTF.
I would like to make a brief comment and confession -
Simula pa noong 2001 magpahanggang ngayon na ako ay nagtatalumpati sa inyong harapan, ay patuloy kong sinusustentuhan ang mga pamilya ng dati kong mga tauhan na nakakulong sa Manila City Jail. Kasama na dito ang mga pamilya ni dating P/Sr Supt Michael Ray Aquino, Cezar Mancao at Glen Dumlao, hanggang ang dalawa ay napauwi dito sa Pilipinas kamakailan, ay tuloy-tuloy ang financial assistance ko sa kanilang lahat sa abot ng aking makakayanan at sa tulong na rin ng mga taong nailigtas namin sa mga kidnappers o natulungan habang ako ay naglilingkod pa bilang isang alagad ng batas. Hindi dahil may kinalaman ako at may dapat akong pagtakpan sa kasong Dacer-Corbito, kung hindi sa dahilang sila ay mga dati kong tauhan at naaawa ako sa kanilang pamilya na nangangailangan ng tulong kaya minarapat kong sila ay tulungan.
Samantalang ang taong maaaring may malaking kinalaman sa pagdurusa ng mga dati naming tauhan, kahit isang singkong duling ay walang itinulong sa kanila magpahanggang ngayon! Ako po lahat ang sumasalo sa problemang wala naman akong kinalaman.
That plain. That simple, Mr President.
Before I tackle the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, please allow me to tell you some short stories about a son, a brother and an elected senator of the Republic.
The following are excerpts from a telephone conversation that transpired between two male persons, both in the United States at that time, one in Los Angeles, California, the other, in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the persons on the line was about to be extradited to testify in a plunder case then pending trial at the Sandiganbayan involving a long-time friend and former president of his country.
The original charge sheet included the father, the mother and a son. Hence:
(Conversation between two male persons on or about summertime of 2006 in America)
Voice Nr 1: Pare, ano ba plano mo pag-uwi mo?
Voice Nr 2: Pare, ‘di ko alam eh.
Voice Nr 1: Pare, kung uuwi ka... kung ano man ang plano mo, huwag mo na kaming idamay ni mommy; si daddy na lang.... kaya niya namang i-depensa ang sarili niya... May ambisyon pa ako. Magpre-presidente pa ako... ako ang bahala sa ‘yo.
Voice Nr 2: Bahala na. Di ko alam pag-uwi ko....
Of course we now know that the father was convicted, while the mother and son were acquitted.
The man in Las Vegas could not believe what the man in Los Angeles told him. But the fact that the source of this phone conversation is not only reliable but unimpeachable, I myself could not believe this story.
The next story is about two brothers, both presidential sons at that time, and a jueteng operator in Baguio City. The elder brother, after being informed that a younger brother was receiving a monthly jueteng payola of P1M, called the attention of the jueteng operator and told him, thus:
“‘Yung P1M na ibinibigay mo sa kapatid ko, hatiin mo... sa akin mo ibigay ang kalahati... Baka gamitin lang pambili ng drugs yung pera.”
Aside from that additional P500,000 sequestered from the younger brother, the elder brother had a regular monthly payola of P800,000 from another jueteng operator from Bulacan, P1M from Chavit Singson and unspecified amount from yet another gambling lord from Pampanga.
Talk about betrayal, Mr. President.
The third story involves an incumbent Cabinet secretary and an elected senator of the Republic. Hence:
“Sec, natalo ako ng P10M. Bigyan mo ako ng project bukas.”
The following day, a member of the senator’s staff would call on the secretary to follow up on the project. I had no time to check if a project was given, and if so, how much.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the three short stories that I shared with you only show the rotten moral values of that son, brother and public official.
Now, let me go back to the issue at hand.
Multiple theories have been imagined, crafted and spread with impunity to show that I had something to do with the twin murders. Behind it all are scheming minions of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration and lately joined by the very same person who, along with this representation and four or five other personalities were named by former Police Sr Supt Cezar Mancao in his open court testimony last September 3, 2009.
He is former President Joseph Ejercito-Estrada, recently convicted for plunder but immediately pardoned by the incumbent president.
In his informal talks with some of our common friends, he would maliciously albeit with feigned ignorance ask, “Ano ba ang galit ni Ping kay Dacer?” or, “Bakit kaya galit na galit si Ping kay Bubby Dacer?” gusto niyang palabasin na ako ang may motibo laban kay Mr. Dacer. Dapat ay sarili niya mismo ang tanungin niya at siguradong alam niya ang mga kasagutan doon.
Mr. Estrada also had the temerity to issue a press statement attributing to me supervision of Oplan or Operation Delta which according to Mr Mancao was designed to neutralize Salvador “Bubby” Dacer. Mabuti pa siya, alam pala niya na may Oplan o Operation Delta. Samantalang ako, sa mga pahayagan at kamakailan ko lang nalaman na may ganun palang operation plan.
Ginoong Pangulo, tiniis kong mag-isa ang mga pagbabatikos sa pamamagitan ng media tungkol sa Dacer case. Binalikat kong mag-isa at hindi man lang inabala ang dating pangulo para tulungan ang mga dati naming tauhan sa PAOCTF. Subali’t nang ituro pa ako ng dating pangulo na siyang may kinalaman sa kaso nina Dacer-Corbito, sinabi ko sa aking sarili, tama na. Panahon na upang tayuan ko sa bulwagang ito at idepensa naman ang aking sarili.
The Swiss philosopher, Henri Frederic Amiel once said, “Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.”
Following the arrest and extradition of Cezar Mancao and Glen Dumlao, the media have been following this story like a telenovela.
In the midst of all these events was the unexpected relief of the erstwhile Secretary of the Department of Justice, the very talkative Raul Gonzalez. My Malacañang sources informed me that the Palace was not happy with the way the irrepressible Gonzalez telegraphed through the media what could have been a clockwork effort by former Presidential Security Group head, now ISAFP Chief Romeo Prestoza, in convincing Mancao to what he himself testified on cross examination by defense lawyers as “fabricated evidence” to implicate me in this case.
Thus, on August 12, 2008, Cezar Mancao was interviewed over radio station DZMM. Following are the excerpts from the transcript of that interview:
Q: (Ted Failon) - Dacer-Corbito case, pending arrest warrant, nililigawan ka raw ni Col Prestoza?
A: (Mancao) - September nagsimula yun. Tinawagan niya ako dito sa bahay na ito, itong teleponong gamit ngayon, nagpakilala siyang siya si Romy Prestoza, bagong halal na PSG chief sa panahong yan. Binigay niya sa akin ang kanyang cell phone number at nag-offer sa akin.
Q: (Ted Failon) - Anong offer?
A: (Mancao) - After siya magpakilala, sinabihan niya akong siya ay bagong halal na PSG chief. Sabi niya masyado raw maingay si Senator Lacson, parang asong ulol, gusto niya patahimikin. Gusto niya akong gamitin, in-offer-an nila ako at buong pamilya ko na manirahan sa Singapore. Lahat na kailangan ko, provide nila.”
Earlier, on August 6, 2008, Mancao was also interviewed by GMA-7 reporter, Maki Pulido. Hence:
“Inalok ako tsaka buong pamilya ko na manirahan sa Singapore. Bigyan ng kung ano, kailangan namin talagang kung ano kailangan ha, in general. Tsaka ito suportahan kami...”
“Hindi naman namin napagusapan ang detalye pero in general para sirain, para manahimik na si Lacson, gamitin daw ako.”
“Iniipit na ako eh, alam mo masyado na ‘tong panggigipit. Ayoko na sanang sumali-sali sa ganyan Maki eh. Ayoko na sanang pa-interview pero sana naman ‘wag na masyadong idamay pa ako diyan sa gulo ng pulitika.”
Cezar Mancao informed me of his conversation with now yet-to-be-confirmed by the CA Maj. Gen. Prestoza through text messages with an assurance that he would stick to the truth and nothing more. I have kept some of those text messages in the folder of my cell phone. I would like to share the same with you, Mr President, distinguished colleagues. Thus -
Message details, from - 0019546732576 (Mancao’s Florida number). Date: 01/04/2008. Time 07:31. Type: text message.
The text message reads:
“Ur ryt,sir! Maricar (Mancao’s wife) said it too.I was hoping i can contribute something 2 propel u at d end.Rest assured of my loyalty.I will (sic) desist d temptattn.Sleep soundly,SIR.”
On several occasions, Cezar Mancao had confided to some people when asked pointblank if this representation had anything to do with the Dacer-Corbito case. He told Ms. Teresita Ang-See that I had no participation, direct or otherwise, when the latter asked him that question sometime in 2003 in the US. He likewise told Malaya columnist, Mr. Lito Banayo the same thing when they saw each other, also in the US sometime in April 2006. And lately, after he had already returned to the country, he repeated the same assertion to a common friend that I had nothing to do with the crime being investigated by the DOJ.
To all these, I now appeal to Cezar Mancao - please abide by the ideals of our Alma Mater, the Philippine Military Academy and have the courage to speak only the truth, both in private conversations as well as before the court and in any formal investigation. I have suffered long enough before the bar of public opinion. The anxiety and anguish keep on building up on my family and my siblings. My parents both died without being given the pleasure of seeing their son vindicated.
Why Cezar Mancao succumbed and decided to sign his February 14, 2009 affidavit is a matter between him and God. I am still hopeful he has not forgotten what God told us through Moses: “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
In Mancao’s court testimony and Dumlao’s sworn affidavit, they narrate that in the early part of October 2000, they went to the office of then P/Sr Supt Michael Ray Aquino to ask him what the so-called “Operation Delta” was all about. Again, excerpts from that supposed conversation as per narration made by Glen Dumlao in his first and handwritten sworn affidavit reveal the following:
“When we reached the office of P/Supt Aquino, P/Supt Mancao asked: Noy, ano ba ang special operations na ito? P/Supt Aquino answered: Kay kuwan yan, Mr Dacer. OK na yan sa Malacanang, pinag-uusapan na yan - Pinag-uusapan na yan. P/Supt Mancao again queried: Clear ba ito sa Boss natin, kay 71? (Senator Lacson is a member of PMA class 1971). P/Supt Aquino answered: Sila (Malacanang) na daw bahala sa kanya.. They (Malacañang) said they will take care of informing him (Lacson).”
My other set of Malacañang informants also told me that Raul Gonzalez tried to convince his President to extend his stint as DOJ Secretary by at least two months by telling PGMA that he intended to resolve the case against me in sixty days record time to which, Mrs Arroyo retorted in her usual “taray” fashion by saying, “Eh, yun na nga eh!...”
Not known to many who are following this case, Cezar Mancao and Glen Dumlao, to-date have executed three sworn statements each. In this case, the contents of the affidavits are modified at each turn, and it would take some patience and perhaps extra-professional expertise to separate the grains of truth from the specks of dirt in the testimonies given by both affiants.
All of the aforementioned affidavits do not contain any statement linking me to the crime, except the one executed by Cezar Mancao on February 14, 2009. in the other affidavits, statements made by Mancao and Dumlao even exculpate me from the crime, attesting to the fact that indeed, I had no knowledge much less authorization for its execution.
In the August 27, 2009 banner story of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the legal counsel for Mancao, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said that in a court hearing, his client identified me as the one who carried out President Estrada’s order to abduct and kill Bubby Dacer. The official transcript of the records of the court proceeding flatly belies Atty. Topacio’s statement before the media who interviewed him. That made me think - Is this what the lawyer and the prosecutors wanted Mancao to say at the hearing, in accordance with a scripted scenario?
Whether Atty Topacio made those statements out of recklessness or out of malice is of minor importance. What is more significant is that it ruined my reputation both as a senator and as a citizen of this country. By making such untrue and malicious statement to the press, Atty. Topacio clearly violated Rule 13.02 under Canon 13 of the Code of Professional Responsibility that states: “A lawyer shall not make public statements in the media regarding a pending case tending to arouse public opinion for or against a party.”
When reminded that his reckless statement can make him subject of disbarment proceedings, Atty. Topacio conveniently blamed the media by claiming that he was misquoted. Kung sa o dalawang reporter lang sana ang nakarinig ng kanyang sinabi, baka umubra pa ang kanyang palusot.
I am almost tempted to use more colorful language for Atty Topacio’s behavior and demeanor as a member of the bar, but I would rather express my condemnation in formal administrative and criminal complaints that I will file against him.
Atty Topacio’s cheap media propaganda tactic is simply the latest of many insidious efforts to ruin my reputation or implicate me in a criminal case by resorting to falsehoods.
Our colleague, the gentleman from San Juan City, quoted a statement issued by the same Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, in effect saying that in his “honest opinion as a lawyer of Cezar Mancao, he believes that Senator Lacson is the only one being directly linked by his client to the twin murders.” To all the lawyers in this august chamber, since when does the opinion of the lawyer of a witness in a criminal case carry weight and probative value?
It is my humble submission that the said opinion is at its best, a self-serving, uncalled for remark from an officer of the court. Worse, it is unethical, even criminal.
Only last Friday, September 18, 2009, at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, Glen Dumlao was visited by a lawyer inside his DOJ safehouse who conveyed a message from the same Atty Ferdinand Topacio to convince him to corroborate the affidavit executed by a newfound false labandera witness that I had a shouting match with Mr Dacer in a beach resort in Batangas. Finding Glen Dumlao unconvinced to perjure himself and cooperate with them, the lawyer said:
“Papaano ‘yan? Iipitin nila ang reinstatement mo sa PNP kung hindi mo susundin ang gusto nila. To which, Dumlao replied, “Eh di hindi na lang ako magpupulis. Magsasaka na lang ako.” The lawyer added, “Mukhang nagkakasabwatan na sina Topacio at Erap.”
Mukha nga, Mr President. Kasi, ang bilis makakuha ng statement of support ang kasamahan nating senador na taga San Juan galing kay Atty Topacio.
Ano ba namang klaseng mga abugado ito, Mr President? Are they not aware of the crime of “subornation of perjury”?
In fact just last Sunday afternoon, Atty. Topacio reported to the former president at his Polk Street residence, where other prominent lawyers of Mr. Estrada were in attendance. One of them could not believe what he saw, for Mr. Topacio is lawyering for witness Mancao, not Mr. Estrada. So shocked that this prominent member of the Bar informed me.
Mr. Topacio was even bragging to a semi-retired publicist, once press undersecretary to the former president, how he lambasted me in a press forum earlier, as if reporting, ‘mission accomplished’ and asking ‘the envelope please.’
This administration and its cohorts will stop at nothing to deliver misery at my front door.
This utter disregard for the truth is best exemplified in the following excerpts from Glen Dumlao’s affidavit dated May 20, 2003. At the time of this conversation, he was under the custody of the PNP starting second quarter of 2001:
“I experienced my greatest fear when I was brought to the office of ISAFP Chief Col (Victor) Corpus at 7:30 am on December 17, 2002.
During the meeting, Col Corpus did almost all of the talking like a mad man. Col Corpus told me that - ‘sige, magdiretsahan tayo, kung di ka tutulong sa amin, ibibigay ka naming (sic) kay Ping para patayin ka na. Ayaw namin ang katotohanan. Kung amin ka, dapat total support at i-pin down natin si Ping.
Bibigyan ka namin ng magandang buhay at posisyon. Andito lahat ang makakatulong sa ‘yo. Pero kung hindi, magkakaleche-leche na ang buhay mo. Nagkakaintindihan ba tayo? Ibigay ninyo sa aking custody ang taong ito. kasi play safe siya eh, takot kay Lacson. Dito sa ISAFP, I promise you, dalawang araw lang, ang dami ng ikakanta yan.”
Incidentally, I was informed by my lawyers that in a hearing of an ongoing libel case that I filed against Victor Corpus and other parties, he apologized in open court for vilifying me publicly, using characters like Ador Mawanay, Mary “Rosebud” Ong, Devnani and others, mostly in public hearings conducted by the Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs chaired by the late Sen Robert Barbers.
Glen Dumlao was subjected to threats and intimidation while in police custody and even now that he is under the protective custody of the DOJ. He suffered mental, emotional, psychological and even physical pressure. When he did not give in, he was promised a good position and comfortable life. In spite of these, he consistently refused to perjure himself and sacrifice the truth for the sake of justice that has been eluding the Dacer and Corbito families. I cannot help but admire his character. His Alma Mater, the Philippine National Police Academy can be truly proud of him despite the confessions he publicly made of his past sins.
My own Alma Mater, the Philippine Military Academy is not short of alumni who truly and continuously live up to the ideals of the institution and our motto -- Courage, Integrity and Loyalty in the face of difficult odds or the temptation of financial benefits. Nothing less must be expected of a fellow cavalier like Cezar Mancao.
Mr. President, I have been a law enforcer before I became a senator. I uphold the law. I arrest criminals. I know that I must fulfill my oath of office and follow only legal orders.
Kung sa jueteng nga na bukod sa may milyon milyong piso akong matatanggap bawat buwan at may basbas at utos pa ang Commander-in-Chief, hindi ako sumunod o umayon, sa murder pa kaya?
Last Friday, I read in the news quoting Atty. Demetrio Custodio Jr. who represents the Dacer family as legal counsel that a certain “labandera” volunteered to testify that this representation had a shouting match with Mr Dacer in a beach resort in Batangas one week before he was abducted. On the same page, Atty Custodio revealed that the Dacer family is willing to accept me as a state witness if I divulge information pointing to the real mastermind behind the twin murders.
The “labandera” story appears to be a small-minded gambit to make me accept the offer. Thanks but no thanks. We must not allow our search for the truth to be colored by personal motivations nor sidetracked by idiocy.
In the first place, I was not a close acquaintance of Mr Dacer – certainly not close enough to spend time with him in a beach resort, be it in Batangas or elsewhere. I hate beaches as a matter of fact. And I don’t remember having gone to any beach in Batangas in my entire life.
In the second place, I was not a participant nor had any involvement in the crime, so how would I qualify as a state witness?
It obviously appears that the “labandera” story was concocted to support yet another theory behind the crime - that I had a personal motive to harm Mr Dacer.
What I can assure the Dacer and Corbito families is that I am willing to even sit down with them privately and share VOLUNTARILY AND UNCONDITIONALLY whatever I know about the abduction and murder of Mr Dacer and his driver. This representation, Mr President is as interested as they are to finally bring the real mastermind of this dastardly crime before the bar of justice.
Both my parents died last year. I know how it feels to lose our loved ones. The Dacer and Corbito families suffered their loss under extra-ordinary circumstances. I fully understand their grief and frustration that justice for their parents remain elusive up to now.
The objective quest for truth and justice must be paramount.
The guilty must answer for his crime. The innocent must be unburdened by baseless accusations and persecution.
Let me tell you another story.
The great Thomas Edison was at one time conducting a series of experiments. A laboratory assistant, who was impatient with the results so far, told Mr Edison “Sir, the last one was our 700th experiment and so far, we have not been successful.” To which the great man of science replied, “Good. That means we have eliminated 700 ways that will lead us to nowhere.”
I hope our Department of Justice with our zealous prosecutors will get a cue from Mr. Edison. I am not suggesting that the DOJ try 700 ways to get to the bottom of the Dacer-Corbito double-murder case. But to include me in the list of persons to answer for this heinous crime, simply because I am one very vocal critic of this administration impedes the wheels of justice, leads it astray and nowhere near the truth. We do not have 700 suspects in this case, so the process of elimination will be much easier and quicker than in the case of Mr Edison’s experiments. It is basic in any crime investigation to look at three simple elements - motive, instrument and opportunity. They should first ask who has all three and they will not go wrong.
This will bring me to another curious case - the disappearance of Mr. Edgar Bentain, the video operator of Pagcor who came out with a footage of then candidate Vice President Estrada gambling in the casino.
This much I can share, in the meantime, to our distinguished colleagues, the family of Mr Bentain and the Filipino people. Sometime in the middle of January 1999, one day after Edgar Bentain was abducted somehwere in Roxas Blvd and killed somewhere in Laguna, a police officer, still active at that time, went to Polk St in Greenhills and reported compliance with a “mission accomplished.” The house occupant simply said, “Sige, sabihin mo sa mga bata, maraming salamat.”
I did not identify the criminal simply because I did not have any participation or direct personal knowledge of these criminal activities while they were taking place years ago. My investigation is ongoing even as I speak today. But I have gathered enough facts and data to provide the useful leads to unmask the mastermind’s true identity and his active participation including other persons who were barely mentioned in the conduct of investigation.
True to my expectations, many are those who questioned my motives or the veracity of my statements. But to-date, my statements before this august chamber were sufficiently and independently corroborated and affirmed by other parties. My assertions appeal to logic and common sense. They can stand the test of truth.
Why speak only now? To me, the more relevant and all-important question is, DID I SPEAK THE TRUTH?
To anyone who dares challenge the truthfulness of my assertion, let him speak up now.
There can be a thousand reasons for why, how and when truth will find a way to stand out but when it does, we must welcome it with open arms, instead of questioning its timing and motive.
Cold reason, not heated passion or blind emotion spoken through fiery but empty rhetoric will enlighten our path to truth and justice for Mr Dacer and Mr. Corbito and their grieving families.
Justice for them will be justice for all Filipinos.
Let me end this with some excerpts from an interview with Glen Dumlao.
*****
SENATOR PANFILO M. LACSON
September 22, 2009
I rise again today on a matter of personal and collective privilege.
On several occasions, I took the floor of this august hall on very important issues affecting national interest.
Jose Pidal. Hello Garci. The NBN-ZTE Broadband Deal. The Fertilizer Scam. Jueteng Anomaly. The C5 Extension Road Project Double Appropriation. The Pork Barrel Anomalies. Plus many others, the latest of which talked about Joseph Ejercito- Estrada in “Dalawang Mukha ng Sining.”
I did not have to seek out most of these anomalies. They came to me. The easiest and most convenient thing to do was to ignore them. Wala akong magiging kaaway. Tahimik pa sana ang aking buhay. But that would be betraying my oath to the Filipino people as an elected Senator of the Republic.
Perhaps no incumbent senator has had the multiple displeasure of being vilified, his reputation assailed repeatedly than this humble representation. If this is the price to pay for fearlessly contributing my share in the fight against graft and corruption in government, then so be it.
If by exposing people in high places and those in the corridors of power would mean creating bitter enemies or losing friends thus making my life miserable, I am willing to pay that price.
Which is why I was aghast at how the gentleman from San Juan, in his privilege speech in this same hall last week accused this representation of being an administration ally, simply because I exposed the true character of his father, the former president.
Everyone and his uncle know that this representation does not receive any pork barrel. I can face any cabinet official or agency head, any executive of any government financial institution or GFI, or government-owned and controlled corporation, or GOCC and before everyone in this august chamber, declare without hesitation, that I have not asked them for any government project for myself or for financial advantage.
The gentleman from San Juan also mentioned that sometime in December of last year, one of the lawyers of former P/Sr Supt Mancao sought an audience with him and requested financial assistance for his client because I have allegedly abandoned Mancao and my other former men in the defunct PAOCTF.
I would like to make a brief comment and confession -
Simula pa noong 2001 magpahanggang ngayon na ako ay nagtatalumpati sa inyong harapan, ay patuloy kong sinusustentuhan ang mga pamilya ng dati kong mga tauhan na nakakulong sa Manila City Jail. Kasama na dito ang mga pamilya ni dating P/Sr Supt Michael Ray Aquino, Cezar Mancao at Glen Dumlao, hanggang ang dalawa ay napauwi dito sa Pilipinas kamakailan, ay tuloy-tuloy ang financial assistance ko sa kanilang lahat sa abot ng aking makakayanan at sa tulong na rin ng mga taong nailigtas namin sa mga kidnappers o natulungan habang ako ay naglilingkod pa bilang isang alagad ng batas. Hindi dahil may kinalaman ako at may dapat akong pagtakpan sa kasong Dacer-Corbito, kung hindi sa dahilang sila ay mga dati kong tauhan at naaawa ako sa kanilang pamilya na nangangailangan ng tulong kaya minarapat kong sila ay tulungan.
Samantalang ang taong maaaring may malaking kinalaman sa pagdurusa ng mga dati naming tauhan, kahit isang singkong duling ay walang itinulong sa kanila magpahanggang ngayon! Ako po lahat ang sumasalo sa problemang wala naman akong kinalaman.
That plain. That simple, Mr President.
Before I tackle the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, please allow me to tell you some short stories about a son, a brother and an elected senator of the Republic.
The following are excerpts from a telephone conversation that transpired between two male persons, both in the United States at that time, one in Los Angeles, California, the other, in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the persons on the line was about to be extradited to testify in a plunder case then pending trial at the Sandiganbayan involving a long-time friend and former president of his country.
The original charge sheet included the father, the mother and a son. Hence:
(Conversation between two male persons on or about summertime of 2006 in America)
Voice Nr 1: Pare, ano ba plano mo pag-uwi mo?
Voice Nr 2: Pare, ‘di ko alam eh.
Voice Nr 1: Pare, kung uuwi ka... kung ano man ang plano mo, huwag mo na kaming idamay ni mommy; si daddy na lang.... kaya niya namang i-depensa ang sarili niya... May ambisyon pa ako. Magpre-presidente pa ako... ako ang bahala sa ‘yo.
Voice Nr 2: Bahala na. Di ko alam pag-uwi ko....
Of course we now know that the father was convicted, while the mother and son were acquitted.
The man in Las Vegas could not believe what the man in Los Angeles told him. But the fact that the source of this phone conversation is not only reliable but unimpeachable, I myself could not believe this story.
The next story is about two brothers, both presidential sons at that time, and a jueteng operator in Baguio City. The elder brother, after being informed that a younger brother was receiving a monthly jueteng payola of P1M, called the attention of the jueteng operator and told him, thus:
“‘Yung P1M na ibinibigay mo sa kapatid ko, hatiin mo... sa akin mo ibigay ang kalahati... Baka gamitin lang pambili ng drugs yung pera.”
Aside from that additional P500,000 sequestered from the younger brother, the elder brother had a regular monthly payola of P800,000 from another jueteng operator from Bulacan, P1M from Chavit Singson and unspecified amount from yet another gambling lord from Pampanga.
Talk about betrayal, Mr. President.
The third story involves an incumbent Cabinet secretary and an elected senator of the Republic. Hence:
“Sec, natalo ako ng P10M. Bigyan mo ako ng project bukas.”
The following day, a member of the senator’s staff would call on the secretary to follow up on the project. I had no time to check if a project was given, and if so, how much.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the three short stories that I shared with you only show the rotten moral values of that son, brother and public official.
Now, let me go back to the issue at hand.
Multiple theories have been imagined, crafted and spread with impunity to show that I had something to do with the twin murders. Behind it all are scheming minions of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration and lately joined by the very same person who, along with this representation and four or five other personalities were named by former Police Sr Supt Cezar Mancao in his open court testimony last September 3, 2009.
He is former President Joseph Ejercito-Estrada, recently convicted for plunder but immediately pardoned by the incumbent president.
In his informal talks with some of our common friends, he would maliciously albeit with feigned ignorance ask, “Ano ba ang galit ni Ping kay Dacer?” or, “Bakit kaya galit na galit si Ping kay Bubby Dacer?” gusto niyang palabasin na ako ang may motibo laban kay Mr. Dacer. Dapat ay sarili niya mismo ang tanungin niya at siguradong alam niya ang mga kasagutan doon.
Mr. Estrada also had the temerity to issue a press statement attributing to me supervision of Oplan or Operation Delta which according to Mr Mancao was designed to neutralize Salvador “Bubby” Dacer. Mabuti pa siya, alam pala niya na may Oplan o Operation Delta. Samantalang ako, sa mga pahayagan at kamakailan ko lang nalaman na may ganun palang operation plan.
Ginoong Pangulo, tiniis kong mag-isa ang mga pagbabatikos sa pamamagitan ng media tungkol sa Dacer case. Binalikat kong mag-isa at hindi man lang inabala ang dating pangulo para tulungan ang mga dati naming tauhan sa PAOCTF. Subali’t nang ituro pa ako ng dating pangulo na siyang may kinalaman sa kaso nina Dacer-Corbito, sinabi ko sa aking sarili, tama na. Panahon na upang tayuan ko sa bulwagang ito at idepensa naman ang aking sarili.
The Swiss philosopher, Henri Frederic Amiel once said, “Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.”
Following the arrest and extradition of Cezar Mancao and Glen Dumlao, the media have been following this story like a telenovela.
In the midst of all these events was the unexpected relief of the erstwhile Secretary of the Department of Justice, the very talkative Raul Gonzalez. My Malacañang sources informed me that the Palace was not happy with the way the irrepressible Gonzalez telegraphed through the media what could have been a clockwork effort by former Presidential Security Group head, now ISAFP Chief Romeo Prestoza, in convincing Mancao to what he himself testified on cross examination by defense lawyers as “fabricated evidence” to implicate me in this case.
Thus, on August 12, 2008, Cezar Mancao was interviewed over radio station DZMM. Following are the excerpts from the transcript of that interview:
Q: (Ted Failon) - Dacer-Corbito case, pending arrest warrant, nililigawan ka raw ni Col Prestoza?
A: (Mancao) - September nagsimula yun. Tinawagan niya ako dito sa bahay na ito, itong teleponong gamit ngayon, nagpakilala siyang siya si Romy Prestoza, bagong halal na PSG chief sa panahong yan. Binigay niya sa akin ang kanyang cell phone number at nag-offer sa akin.
Q: (Ted Failon) - Anong offer?
A: (Mancao) - After siya magpakilala, sinabihan niya akong siya ay bagong halal na PSG chief. Sabi niya masyado raw maingay si Senator Lacson, parang asong ulol, gusto niya patahimikin. Gusto niya akong gamitin, in-offer-an nila ako at buong pamilya ko na manirahan sa Singapore. Lahat na kailangan ko, provide nila.”
Earlier, on August 6, 2008, Mancao was also interviewed by GMA-7 reporter, Maki Pulido. Hence:
“Inalok ako tsaka buong pamilya ko na manirahan sa Singapore. Bigyan ng kung ano, kailangan namin talagang kung ano kailangan ha, in general. Tsaka ito suportahan kami...”
“Hindi naman namin napagusapan ang detalye pero in general para sirain, para manahimik na si Lacson, gamitin daw ako.”
“Iniipit na ako eh, alam mo masyado na ‘tong panggigipit. Ayoko na sanang sumali-sali sa ganyan Maki eh. Ayoko na sanang pa-interview pero sana naman ‘wag na masyadong idamay pa ako diyan sa gulo ng pulitika.”
Cezar Mancao informed me of his conversation with now yet-to-be-confirmed by the CA Maj. Gen. Prestoza through text messages with an assurance that he would stick to the truth and nothing more. I have kept some of those text messages in the folder of my cell phone. I would like to share the same with you, Mr President, distinguished colleagues. Thus -
Message details, from - 0019546732576 (Mancao’s Florida number). Date: 01/04/2008. Time 07:31. Type: text message.
The text message reads:
“Ur ryt,sir! Maricar (Mancao’s wife) said it too.I was hoping i can contribute something 2 propel u at d end.Rest assured of my loyalty.I will (sic) desist d temptattn.Sleep soundly,SIR.”
On several occasions, Cezar Mancao had confided to some people when asked pointblank if this representation had anything to do with the Dacer-Corbito case. He told Ms. Teresita Ang-See that I had no participation, direct or otherwise, when the latter asked him that question sometime in 2003 in the US. He likewise told Malaya columnist, Mr. Lito Banayo the same thing when they saw each other, also in the US sometime in April 2006. And lately, after he had already returned to the country, he repeated the same assertion to a common friend that I had nothing to do with the crime being investigated by the DOJ.
To all these, I now appeal to Cezar Mancao - please abide by the ideals of our Alma Mater, the Philippine Military Academy and have the courage to speak only the truth, both in private conversations as well as before the court and in any formal investigation. I have suffered long enough before the bar of public opinion. The anxiety and anguish keep on building up on my family and my siblings. My parents both died without being given the pleasure of seeing their son vindicated.
Why Cezar Mancao succumbed and decided to sign his February 14, 2009 affidavit is a matter between him and God. I am still hopeful he has not forgotten what God told us through Moses: “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
In Mancao’s court testimony and Dumlao’s sworn affidavit, they narrate that in the early part of October 2000, they went to the office of then P/Sr Supt Michael Ray Aquino to ask him what the so-called “Operation Delta” was all about. Again, excerpts from that supposed conversation as per narration made by Glen Dumlao in his first and handwritten sworn affidavit reveal the following:
“When we reached the office of P/Supt Aquino, P/Supt Mancao asked: Noy, ano ba ang special operations na ito? P/Supt Aquino answered: Kay kuwan yan, Mr Dacer. OK na yan sa Malacanang, pinag-uusapan na yan - Pinag-uusapan na yan. P/Supt Mancao again queried: Clear ba ito sa Boss natin, kay 71? (Senator Lacson is a member of PMA class 1971). P/Supt Aquino answered: Sila (Malacanang) na daw bahala sa kanya.. They (Malacañang) said they will take care of informing him (Lacson).”
My other set of Malacañang informants also told me that Raul Gonzalez tried to convince his President to extend his stint as DOJ Secretary by at least two months by telling PGMA that he intended to resolve the case against me in sixty days record time to which, Mrs Arroyo retorted in her usual “taray” fashion by saying, “Eh, yun na nga eh!...”
Not known to many who are following this case, Cezar Mancao and Glen Dumlao, to-date have executed three sworn statements each. In this case, the contents of the affidavits are modified at each turn, and it would take some patience and perhaps extra-professional expertise to separate the grains of truth from the specks of dirt in the testimonies given by both affiants.
All of the aforementioned affidavits do not contain any statement linking me to the crime, except the one executed by Cezar Mancao on February 14, 2009. in the other affidavits, statements made by Mancao and Dumlao even exculpate me from the crime, attesting to the fact that indeed, I had no knowledge much less authorization for its execution.
In the August 27, 2009 banner story of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the legal counsel for Mancao, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said that in a court hearing, his client identified me as the one who carried out President Estrada’s order to abduct and kill Bubby Dacer. The official transcript of the records of the court proceeding flatly belies Atty. Topacio’s statement before the media who interviewed him. That made me think - Is this what the lawyer and the prosecutors wanted Mancao to say at the hearing, in accordance with a scripted scenario?
Whether Atty Topacio made those statements out of recklessness or out of malice is of minor importance. What is more significant is that it ruined my reputation both as a senator and as a citizen of this country. By making such untrue and malicious statement to the press, Atty. Topacio clearly violated Rule 13.02 under Canon 13 of the Code of Professional Responsibility that states: “A lawyer shall not make public statements in the media regarding a pending case tending to arouse public opinion for or against a party.”
When reminded that his reckless statement can make him subject of disbarment proceedings, Atty. Topacio conveniently blamed the media by claiming that he was misquoted. Kung sa o dalawang reporter lang sana ang nakarinig ng kanyang sinabi, baka umubra pa ang kanyang palusot.
I am almost tempted to use more colorful language for Atty Topacio’s behavior and demeanor as a member of the bar, but I would rather express my condemnation in formal administrative and criminal complaints that I will file against him.
Atty Topacio’s cheap media propaganda tactic is simply the latest of many insidious efforts to ruin my reputation or implicate me in a criminal case by resorting to falsehoods.
Our colleague, the gentleman from San Juan City, quoted a statement issued by the same Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, in effect saying that in his “honest opinion as a lawyer of Cezar Mancao, he believes that Senator Lacson is the only one being directly linked by his client to the twin murders.” To all the lawyers in this august chamber, since when does the opinion of the lawyer of a witness in a criminal case carry weight and probative value?
It is my humble submission that the said opinion is at its best, a self-serving, uncalled for remark from an officer of the court. Worse, it is unethical, even criminal.
Only last Friday, September 18, 2009, at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, Glen Dumlao was visited by a lawyer inside his DOJ safehouse who conveyed a message from the same Atty Ferdinand Topacio to convince him to corroborate the affidavit executed by a newfound false labandera witness that I had a shouting match with Mr Dacer in a beach resort in Batangas. Finding Glen Dumlao unconvinced to perjure himself and cooperate with them, the lawyer said:
“Papaano ‘yan? Iipitin nila ang reinstatement mo sa PNP kung hindi mo susundin ang gusto nila. To which, Dumlao replied, “Eh di hindi na lang ako magpupulis. Magsasaka na lang ako.” The lawyer added, “Mukhang nagkakasabwatan na sina Topacio at Erap.”
Mukha nga, Mr President. Kasi, ang bilis makakuha ng statement of support ang kasamahan nating senador na taga San Juan galing kay Atty Topacio.
Ano ba namang klaseng mga abugado ito, Mr President? Are they not aware of the crime of “subornation of perjury”?
In fact just last Sunday afternoon, Atty. Topacio reported to the former president at his Polk Street residence, where other prominent lawyers of Mr. Estrada were in attendance. One of them could not believe what he saw, for Mr. Topacio is lawyering for witness Mancao, not Mr. Estrada. So shocked that this prominent member of the Bar informed me.
Mr. Topacio was even bragging to a semi-retired publicist, once press undersecretary to the former president, how he lambasted me in a press forum earlier, as if reporting, ‘mission accomplished’ and asking ‘the envelope please.’
This administration and its cohorts will stop at nothing to deliver misery at my front door.
This utter disregard for the truth is best exemplified in the following excerpts from Glen Dumlao’s affidavit dated May 20, 2003. At the time of this conversation, he was under the custody of the PNP starting second quarter of 2001:
“I experienced my greatest fear when I was brought to the office of ISAFP Chief Col (Victor) Corpus at 7:30 am on December 17, 2002.
During the meeting, Col Corpus did almost all of the talking like a mad man. Col Corpus told me that - ‘sige, magdiretsahan tayo, kung di ka tutulong sa amin, ibibigay ka naming (sic) kay Ping para patayin ka na. Ayaw namin ang katotohanan. Kung amin ka, dapat total support at i-pin down natin si Ping.
Bibigyan ka namin ng magandang buhay at posisyon. Andito lahat ang makakatulong sa ‘yo. Pero kung hindi, magkakaleche-leche na ang buhay mo. Nagkakaintindihan ba tayo? Ibigay ninyo sa aking custody ang taong ito. kasi play safe siya eh, takot kay Lacson. Dito sa ISAFP, I promise you, dalawang araw lang, ang dami ng ikakanta yan.”
Incidentally, I was informed by my lawyers that in a hearing of an ongoing libel case that I filed against Victor Corpus and other parties, he apologized in open court for vilifying me publicly, using characters like Ador Mawanay, Mary “Rosebud” Ong, Devnani and others, mostly in public hearings conducted by the Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs chaired by the late Sen Robert Barbers.
Glen Dumlao was subjected to threats and intimidation while in police custody and even now that he is under the protective custody of the DOJ. He suffered mental, emotional, psychological and even physical pressure. When he did not give in, he was promised a good position and comfortable life. In spite of these, he consistently refused to perjure himself and sacrifice the truth for the sake of justice that has been eluding the Dacer and Corbito families. I cannot help but admire his character. His Alma Mater, the Philippine National Police Academy can be truly proud of him despite the confessions he publicly made of his past sins.
My own Alma Mater, the Philippine Military Academy is not short of alumni who truly and continuously live up to the ideals of the institution and our motto -- Courage, Integrity and Loyalty in the face of difficult odds or the temptation of financial benefits. Nothing less must be expected of a fellow cavalier like Cezar Mancao.
Mr. President, I have been a law enforcer before I became a senator. I uphold the law. I arrest criminals. I know that I must fulfill my oath of office and follow only legal orders.
Kung sa jueteng nga na bukod sa may milyon milyong piso akong matatanggap bawat buwan at may basbas at utos pa ang Commander-in-Chief, hindi ako sumunod o umayon, sa murder pa kaya?
Last Friday, I read in the news quoting Atty. Demetrio Custodio Jr. who represents the Dacer family as legal counsel that a certain “labandera” volunteered to testify that this representation had a shouting match with Mr Dacer in a beach resort in Batangas one week before he was abducted. On the same page, Atty Custodio revealed that the Dacer family is willing to accept me as a state witness if I divulge information pointing to the real mastermind behind the twin murders.
The “labandera” story appears to be a small-minded gambit to make me accept the offer. Thanks but no thanks. We must not allow our search for the truth to be colored by personal motivations nor sidetracked by idiocy.
In the first place, I was not a close acquaintance of Mr Dacer – certainly not close enough to spend time with him in a beach resort, be it in Batangas or elsewhere. I hate beaches as a matter of fact. And I don’t remember having gone to any beach in Batangas in my entire life.
In the second place, I was not a participant nor had any involvement in the crime, so how would I qualify as a state witness?
It obviously appears that the “labandera” story was concocted to support yet another theory behind the crime - that I had a personal motive to harm Mr Dacer.
What I can assure the Dacer and Corbito families is that I am willing to even sit down with them privately and share VOLUNTARILY AND UNCONDITIONALLY whatever I know about the abduction and murder of Mr Dacer and his driver. This representation, Mr President is as interested as they are to finally bring the real mastermind of this dastardly crime before the bar of justice.
Both my parents died last year. I know how it feels to lose our loved ones. The Dacer and Corbito families suffered their loss under extra-ordinary circumstances. I fully understand their grief and frustration that justice for their parents remain elusive up to now.
The objective quest for truth and justice must be paramount.
The guilty must answer for his crime. The innocent must be unburdened by baseless accusations and persecution.
Let me tell you another story.
The great Thomas Edison was at one time conducting a series of experiments. A laboratory assistant, who was impatient with the results so far, told Mr Edison “Sir, the last one was our 700th experiment and so far, we have not been successful.” To which the great man of science replied, “Good. That means we have eliminated 700 ways that will lead us to nowhere.”
I hope our Department of Justice with our zealous prosecutors will get a cue from Mr. Edison. I am not suggesting that the DOJ try 700 ways to get to the bottom of the Dacer-Corbito double-murder case. But to include me in the list of persons to answer for this heinous crime, simply because I am one very vocal critic of this administration impedes the wheels of justice, leads it astray and nowhere near the truth. We do not have 700 suspects in this case, so the process of elimination will be much easier and quicker than in the case of Mr Edison’s experiments. It is basic in any crime investigation to look at three simple elements - motive, instrument and opportunity. They should first ask who has all three and they will not go wrong.
This will bring me to another curious case - the disappearance of Mr. Edgar Bentain, the video operator of Pagcor who came out with a footage of then candidate Vice President Estrada gambling in the casino.
This much I can share, in the meantime, to our distinguished colleagues, the family of Mr Bentain and the Filipino people. Sometime in the middle of January 1999, one day after Edgar Bentain was abducted somehwere in Roxas Blvd and killed somewhere in Laguna, a police officer, still active at that time, went to Polk St in Greenhills and reported compliance with a “mission accomplished.” The house occupant simply said, “Sige, sabihin mo sa mga bata, maraming salamat.”
I did not identify the criminal simply because I did not have any participation or direct personal knowledge of these criminal activities while they were taking place years ago. My investigation is ongoing even as I speak today. But I have gathered enough facts and data to provide the useful leads to unmask the mastermind’s true identity and his active participation including other persons who were barely mentioned in the conduct of investigation.
True to my expectations, many are those who questioned my motives or the veracity of my statements. But to-date, my statements before this august chamber were sufficiently and independently corroborated and affirmed by other parties. My assertions appeal to logic and common sense. They can stand the test of truth.
Why speak only now? To me, the more relevant and all-important question is, DID I SPEAK THE TRUTH?
To anyone who dares challenge the truthfulness of my assertion, let him speak up now.
There can be a thousand reasons for why, how and when truth will find a way to stand out but when it does, we must welcome it with open arms, instead of questioning its timing and motive.
Cold reason, not heated passion or blind emotion spoken through fiery but empty rhetoric will enlighten our path to truth and justice for Mr Dacer and Mr. Corbito and their grieving families.
Justice for them will be justice for all Filipinos.
Let me end this with some excerpts from an interview with Glen Dumlao.
*****
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Recent Developments on Dacer-Corbito Case Unmasking Persecution vs Me
Recent revelations in the Dacer-Corbito double murder are slowly but surely unmasking administration attempts to use the case to persecute him, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Friday.
With the developments, Lacson voiced hopes the Department of Justice will finally wake up to the reality that the preliminary investigation it is pursuing against him is irrelevant.
“I now believe the saying ‘The truth shall set us free.’ It is becoming clear the efforts to link me to the case stemmed from Malacañang, through then Presidential Security Group chief Romeo Prestoza,” he said.
“I hope the DOJ wakes up and realizes its preliminary investigation against me is irrelevant,” he added.
On Thursday, former police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II testified before a Manila court that Prestoza, then a colonel heading the Presidential Security Group (PSG), offered him financial support and relocation abroad in exchange for fabricated statements against Lacson.
Mancao admitted that while he was in the United States in September 2007, a man claiming to be Pres/toza called him up and offered him financial support and relocation in Singapore.
Prestoza also offered Mancao education support for his children, all in exchange for false statements against Lacson, but Mancao refused the offers.
Lacson also noted earlier this year he received a text message from Mancao in January 2008 detailing Prestoza’s offer. Lacson said Mancao even told him to “Sleep soundly, sir.”
Also earlier this week, former police Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao said in a television interview former President Joseph Estrada was behind the murders.
“This administration is using all foul and underhanded tactics to silence me for exposing its sins. But those had failed to stop me then, they will not stop me now. I will continue to investigate the sins that Mrs. Arroyo and her family have committee against the nation,” Lacson said.
o0o
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ang Dalawang Mukha ng Sining
Privilege Speech Delivered by
SENATOR PANFILO M. LACSON
September 14, 2009
In Greek drama, masks were useful devices that allow the actor to play several different characters.
In the Philippine political drama, nothing much differs.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues. Today, I rise on a matter of personal and collective privilege.
The great American writer Elbert Green Hubbard once wrote:
If you work for a man, in heaven’s name work for him.... If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage, resign your position, and when you are OUTSIDE, DAMN TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT, but as long as you are part of the institution do not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosening the tendrils that are holding you to that institution, and at the first high wind that comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away, and will probably never know the reason why.
I hope you will understand why it has taken me this long to unburden myself of the truth I carry.
Having once been a professional soldier trained in the tradition and practice of institutional and even personal loyalty, only the higher interest of nation and people, and the highest call of conscience, impel me to speak out.
Mr. President, you, more than any of us in this hall, understand what I mean.
When you went through the gut-wrenching crucible of mutiny against your commander-in-chief on February 22, 1986, you had to choose between loyalty to person against loyalty to the higher interest of nation and people.
Jose Ejercito, or Joseph Estrada, also known as Jose Velarde, former president of the Republic of the Philippines and the first and only head of state of this country to be impeached by Congress was elected in 1998 with the highest number of votes cast by the Filipino people ever.
He also won by the biggest margin ever, over his closest opponent, Jose de Venecia Jr.
His campaign slogan –Erap para sa Mahirap – was a masterpiece, almost a stroke of genius.
Before he ran for the presidency, I worked with him closely as head of an anti-crime task force of the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Commission formed by then President Fidel Valdez Ramos to combat the kidnapping scourge that was gripping the country.
Foreign investors were avoiding us, while local businessmen, especially the ethnic Chinese, were transferring elsewhere.
It was one big security and even economic threat that faced the newly elected president in 1992.
I joined then Vice President Estrada on August 4, 1992, after a short-lived stint as provincial director of Laguna in the Southern Tagalog region.
I gladly accepted the offer to join PACC since I was not happy anyway with my Laguna assignment.
I was consistently at loggerheads with most of the local elective officials when I waged a no-nonsense, uncompromising battle against the illegal numbers game, jueteng, in that jurisdiction.
Needless to say, those officials who were on the take from jueteng operators hated my guts and wanted me out of the province at first opportunity.
At the PACC, and it is a matter of public record, we scored high in our anti-crime efforts. In less than a year, we brought down an alarmingly high incidence of kidnap-for-ransom cases to zero.
Literally, zero.
This was highlighted by the neutralization of the dreaded Red Scorpion Group on February 17, 1993.
Modesty aside, but without mental reservation, I can dare say our performance helped chart Mr. Estrada’s road to the presidency.
More than a couple of years before the May 1998 presidential elections, he was virtually a president-in-waiting.
Mr. Estrada impressed me with the way he handled his subordinates. He personally took care of our needs, always mindful of our safety and security.
He also managed to personally thank and commend all the operatives for a good day’s work, even giving incentives after big accomplishments
It was his personal recommendation to then President Ramos that earned me my first star rank in 1994, way ahead of my peers and even senior officers in the Philippine National Police.
During our private conversations, he would tell me:
“Alam mo Ping, kung matitigil lang ang katiwalian sa ating bansa, siguradong maiaangat natin mula sa kahirapan ang karamihan ng ating mga kababayan. Napakalaki kasi ang nawawala sa budget dahil sa ‘corruption’, kaya hindi tayo makaahon sa hirap.”
Having been born to poor parents myself, he struck me as the man our country needed to lead our people.
Needless to say, I was impressed.
I would tell my men and as many people I could reach, “Kung mahal natin ang ating bansa, si Erap ang dapat nating maging susunod na presidente at wala nang iba.”
I put those words into action during the presidential campaign in 1998.
Under pain of being accused of electioneering, I mustered all the men I had worked with in the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to mount an organized strategic effort to thwart election fraud as that could be the only way to prevent Mr. Estrada’s victory in the 1998 presidential election.
My men and I went around the whole country - Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, talked to as many field commanders and chiefs of police, so that they would not allow themselves to be used as instruments to cheat Mr Estrada out of sure victory.
In one of our visits in Mindanao, I met with then Southcom Chief Lt. Gen. Joselin Nazareno.
I brought him to Vice President Estrada to make his personal commitment to guard the votes in Mindanao and made Mr Estrada promise to consider him as the next AFP Chief of Staff when he becomes president.
He did not just promise to consider. He committed the post to Gen. Nazareno.
So Erap became president, all right.
After his victory in May 1998, he started making announcements for possible appointments to key positions in his government.
One not-so-fine afternoon, he summoned me to his Polk St. Greenhills residence and asked if he could appoint another ranking general as AFP Chief of Staff, instead of Gen. Nazareno.
I told him, that was his prerogative as incoming commander-in-chief, but firmly reminded him that a promise was made to Gen. Nazareno.
His sudden amnesia got me to start thinking, “something could be wrong with the character of this man.”
This thought came again sometime in early June of 1998.
He called me to talk about what I thought would be my possible appointment as Chief, PNP.
Instead, he expressed his thoughts on jueteng and how he intended to deal with it during his presidency.
He said: “Ping, iniisip ko, pagbigyan na lang natin itong jueteng. Alam mo, ang mga governors at mayors, lalo na ‘yung mga tumulong sa akin sa eleksyon, wala sila ng katulad sa President’s social fund na galing sa Pagcor. Marami silang gastusin at sa jueteng lang nila pwedeng kunin ang pera.”
Shocked and surprised, I retorted, “Sir, ilegal ‘yan. Saka presidente na kayo. Dapat huwag na kayong makialam sa jueteng. Larong lupa pati iyan. Sasabog kayo diyan at masisira tayo pareho.
Visibly dismayed and irritated, he said, “Sige, saka na lang tayo mag-usap.”
He walked me to the main door of his house and used another tack: “Saka, Ping, ‘yung mga tao natin dati sa task force, gusto ko rin silang bigyan ng monthly allowance.”
To which I quickly replied: “Sir, ang mga tao natin, kami lahat, mababaw lang ang kaligayahan namin. Kahit additional subsistence allowance lang, happy na kami.”
Hiding his irritation, he gave me a quick and curt goodbye.
Finally on November 16, 1999, I was appointed Chief, PNP. But only after persistent second thoughts from the appointing authority.
On November 15 of the same year, I received a call from his cohort, Mr. Jaime Dichavez, who was, at that time, with Mr. Estrada in Tagaytay Highlands in Cavite.
Mr. Dichavez told me I was to be informed of my appointment as Chief, PNP.
It did not turn out to be that simple.
In the living room of the Tagaytay resthouse, he told me very seriously: “Ping, dapat pagbigyan natin ang operation ng jueteng. Maraming umaasa diyan.”
“Eto na naman kami,” I said to myself.
By that time, I had realized jueteng had always been the deal breaker in getting my impending appointment and must be the reason why I was not appointed in June of 1998.
Maintaining my immovable position that I cannot, as we must not, tolerate anything that is illegal, he asked, “Sino ba ang mas senior sa inyo ni Wycoco?” (referring to the late NBI director, Reynaldo Wycoco), to which I answered, “Kung seniority sir sa PMA (Philippine Military Academy), siya, dahil una siyang nag-graduate. Pero ngayon, pareho lang kaming 2-star general, sir.”
He did not appoint me right there, instead instructed me to follow his convoy back to Malacañang in Metro Manila.
It was in Malacañang, that same evening, that he finally informed me of my appointment to the position, but not without his “huling hirit sa jueteng.”
It was also during that conversation when I told him I was aware of the monthly P5 Million “S.O.P.” being given by Gov. Chavit Singson to the Chief, PNP as part of an organized payola, and that I was waiving it, therefore would not accept it.
Three or four months after my assumption of office, I learned that Mr. Estrada asked Gov. Singson to remit to him retroactively the monies intended for the Chief, PNP.
He told Gov. Singson: “Gov, baka akala mo, hindi ko alam na hindi kinukuha ng bagong Chief,PNP ang para sa kanya. Ibigay mo rin sa akin ‘yan.”
After all the internal reforms that I instituted in the PNP were in place, including my “no-take policy, anti-kotong campaign, 34-inch maximum waistline, strong anti-crime and anti-drugs campaign, proper allocation and downloading of funds, and logistics to front-line units, I started training my guns on the illegal numbers game – jueteng.
It was a no-nonsense, no-matter-who-gets-hurt kind of a campaign.
I thought if I was hard on lowly policemen who stopped mulcting P100 or P200 from vegetable dealers and hapless taxi cab and jeepney drivers out of deference to my no-take policy, I should be as hard, if not harder, against my regional and provincial directors who were raking in millions of pesos from gambling operators.
This was when my life started to become miserable.
The general public, even most of my distinguished colleagues in this hall, may not be aware of this, but it was common knowledge in Malacañang as well as in Camp Crame at that time, that for the most part of the second half of the year 2000, I was not welcome in the palace due to my differences with then President Estrada over the issue of jueteng.
Mr. Estrada had unofficially declared me persona non grata in the palace grounds.
I was practically in the doghouse for an unusually extended period of time. Mr. Estrada would not talk to me.
He was dealing directly with my subordinate officers, both at the PAOCTF and the PNP, which I both headed in concurrent capacity.
I could not even report to him about major incidents like the bombings in Mindanao because he was no longer answering my calls, which he used to do, and in earnest.
“Anak ng jueteng na buhay ito!” I would tell my close friends.
Jueteng became a sore point between me and Mr. Estrada. I made it clear that I would stick to my “no-take policy” and I continued to issue stern warnings to my regional and provincial directors that if they tolerate jueteng operations in their areas of responsibility, they would be removed and subjected to harsh disciplinary action.
At least one regional director who had direct and strong connections with Mr Estrada was defiant.
When I confronted him, he said, “Napagalitan ako ni presidente nang simulan ko ang kampanya laban sa jueteng dito. Sino ba ang susundin ko, Chief, PNP o ang Commander-in-Chief?”
I was successful in instituting reforms in the PNP because Mr. Estrada gave me full authority which I asked in the first place when I got appointed to the post.
But because of jueteng, Mr Estrada, issued a written memorandum to then Secretary of Interior and Local Government Alfredo Lim, effectively taking away from me the authority to appoint and remove police officials down to provincial director level.
“Hindi nga talaga mahina ang ulo ng presidenteng ito,” I told myself. By removing that authority, I could no longer discipline my officers, I would fail in my anti-gambling operations and worse, I would definitely fail in my mission.
Resigning my position crossed my mind then. I spent many sleepless nights agonizing over my situation.
In one of our Cluster E Cabinet meetings held in the office of the DFA, then AFP Chief of Staff Gen Angelo Reyes took pity on me and gave his advice, “Pare, Commander-in-Chief natin ‘yan. Pagbigyan mo na muna ngayon at saka ninyo na lang pag-usapan ang problema ninyo ni Presidente.”
I answered him, “Sir, question de prinsipyo ito. Ako ang nasa tama sa labang ito. Tanggalin na lang n’ya ako, pero hindi ako bibigay dito.”
I found out later that indeed Mr. Estrada had started gathering legal basis to justify my relief.
On hindsight, people close to Mr. Estrada and this representation would say as an afterthought - EDSA 2 could not have happened had Mr Estrada listened to General Lacson’s consistent advice on jueteng. Simple.
But on the other hand, EDSA 2 would not have happened if I went along with Mr. Estrada and Gov. Singson and altogether tolerated jueteng operations.
Why?
Bingo 2-Ball would not have been conceived to legalize jueteng.
We all know that it was during its implementation that there was a misunderstanding and falling out between Mr. Estrada and Chavit Singson.
Mr. Estrada realized that I would not waver on my stand against jueteng and thought that by legalizing it, I would not have any more reason to conduct raids and operations.
Jueteng is just one illustrative insight into the character of Mr. Estrada as a government official, and as President of the country. There were other sinister behavioral patterns that must be told to the Filipino people.
Sa likod ng isang maka-mahirap na Joseph Estrada na mahal na mahal ng masa, ay maraming transaksyon na may kasamang pang-aabuso, gamit ang kapangyarihang kaagapay ng pagiging pangulo ng bansa, upang magkamal ng maraming salapi para sa sariling kapakanan.
In August 1998, in the early part of Mr. Estrada’s abbreviated presidency, Mr. Alfonso Yuchengco was pressured to sign conveyance of his 7.75% PTIC (Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation) holdings, equivalent to 18,720 shares to Metro Pacific, represented by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
These PTIC holdings correspond to 2,017,650 PLDT common shares.
Mr. Yuchengco, I also learned later, was pressed to sign a waiver of his right of first refusal over the PTIC shares of the Cojuangco-Meer group.
It was only after the passage of many years that I was to learn that Mr. Estrada, barely two months in office then, used the PNP to harass Mr. Yuchengco’s son, Tito, with threat of arrest on some trumped-up drug charges to force his father, Mr. Yuchengco to sell.
This harassment of the young man was accomplished through deliberate and obvious physical surveillance.
“Napag-alaman ko na matagal tagal ding may kimkim na galit daw sa akin ang pamilyang Yuchengco sa dahilang ang pagkaalam nila ay sa akin iniutos ni Mr Estrada ang panggigipit sa kanila upang mapwersang magbenta ng kanilang pag-aaring shares of stocks ng PLDT.
Sa inyo, Ginoong Pangulo ng Senado, mga pinagpipitaganan kong kasamahan at sampu ng pamilya Yuchengco -- wala po akong kamalay-malay sa pangyayaring iyan.
At kung halimbawa mang sa akin iniutos ni Mr Estrada ang gawaing iyon, ay siguradong hindi ko po susundin.”
The bigger and more important question remains - “What was the deal in pesos and centavos between Mr Estrada and Mr Pangilinan, if any?”
Or, should we rather ask, “How much was involved?”
Sa larangan naman ng smuggling sa Customs at sa iba pang lugar ay hindi rin masusukat ang kakayahan ni Mr. Estrada.
When Mr. Estrada transferred the mission of going after smugglers from the late Lt Gen. Jose Calimlim’s unit in PSG to the PAOCTF, he gave me the mandate to go hammer and tongs against smugglers.
Yet one morning, I received a call from Mr. Estrada. “May mga tao ka raw na nangha-harass sa Customs,” he said with a low tone.
After checking with my officers, I replied, “Wala sila sir sa loob ng Customs zone kaya imposibleng makapang-harass sila doon. Nandun sila sa labas, malapit sa Manila Hotel at may inaabangan na ilulusot na shipments ng dressed chicken parts from China and the US.”
He bellowed, “Basta i-pull out mo!”
A few days later in a light conversation on the topic of smuggling, inside his office in Malacañang, I told Mr. Estrada, “Alam mo sir, dalawampung 40-foot containers sana ng dressed chickens ang nahuli natin kung hindi mo iniutos i-pull out ang mga tao natin.”
With a mocking voice, he said, “Sana hindi kayo nag-pull out.”
Akala ko, nang bigyan ako ng kautusang lipulin ang mga smugglers sa pier, totoong-totoo at seryoso. Ako namang si gago, trabaho lang ng trabaho. ‘Yun pala, moro-moro.
May dalawang mukha nga ba ang sining? O, sa likod ng putting tabing ay ibang itsura ng mukha ang nakatago?
Pagkatapos ng manok na galing sa Tsina at Amerika, dumako naman tayo sa bigas na tanim ng Vietcong.
Sometime in August 2000, when Mr. Estrada was hardly talking to me, on account of my hard-headedness on the issue of jueteng, he was giving a direct order to one of my subordinate officers in PAOCTF to release a shipload of smuggled rice that was apprehended somewhere in the Cebu-Bohol area.
The PAOCTF officer was with me in Cebu during that time, and he was relaying to me the President’s order.
I did not bother to find out anymore if the officer complied or not with Mr. Estrada’s order.
I thought I should not interfere with a direct order coming from the President to a subordinate officer because in doing so I felt that it would add insult to injury upon myself.
Sadly, because we never punish smugglers, the same people who sabotaged our economy during the Estrada regime are the same saboteurs in bed with the present dispensation.
Walang nagbago, lalo lang lumaki ang komisyon at lagayan.
In an effort to defend himself from accusations that he may have been involved in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, he has consistently asserted that he never dealt with officials other than the heads of agencies.
Yet, on so many occasions, and I have personal knowledge on this, during his presidency, he was giving direct orders and instructions deep into the layers of the entire government bureaucracy, the PNP and the PAOCTF included.
And those who have worked with him in Malacañang know whereof I speak.
Mr. Estrada had the temerity to issue a press statement that I was the one who knew and in fact supervised what former police officer Cezar Mancao had testified in court as “Operation or Oplan Delta”, allegedly a special operations plan designed to neutralize Salvador “Bubby” Dacer.
Mabuti pa si Mr. Estrada, alam niyang may “Oplan Delta.” Ako, sa mga pahayagan at kamakailan ko lamang narinig at nalaman na mayroon palang “Oplan Delta.”
Sa halip na i-depensa na lang niya ang sarili niya, bakit siya kailangang magturo ng iba?
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, maraming bagay-bagay na sa abot ng aking natuklasan, matapos ang aking sariling pagsasaliksik at pag-iimbestiga hindi lamang sa usaping ito kundi pati ibang kasong maaring kinasangkutan ni Ginoong Estrada ang nais kong ibahagi sa kapulungang ito.
Marami din akong gustong itanong kay Mr. Estrada:
1. Sino ang inutusan mo para i-harass at gipitin ang pamilya ni Al Yuchengco?
2. Sino ang tumawag sa iyo para utusan ako na i-pull out ang mga tao kong nakaabang na hulihin ang smuggled chicken parts?
3. Kaninong shipment ng smuggled rice ang ipina-release mo sa Cebu?
4. At higit sa lahat, anu-ano pa ang mga iniutos mo sa ating mga dating tauhan sa PAOCTF na lingid sa aking kaalaman?
But for now and today, I will limit the subject of my privilege speech to the issues I mentioned.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, with your indulgence, please allow me to take the floor once again on Monday next week.
For former President Joseph Ejercito-Estrada, there is no corruption if it does not involve government funds.
Therefore, following his flawed logic, it is not corruption to accept bribes - from jueteng and some shady deals that involve using the power and influence of the presidency.
He has not heard of ‘conflict of interest’ nor taking advantage of one’s position to amass wealth.
He has not changed that loose definition of corruption.
In media interviews and in his conversations with friends and associates, he maintains that he had not done anything wrong since all his transactions while he was president did not involve government funds.
Now he is presenting himself again to the Filipino people, for one more chance at the presidency.
At this juncture of our history, after suffering eight years of unmitigated corruption under the regime which succeeded the Estrada presidency, I would be remiss in my sworn duties as an elected member of the Senate, as a nationally elected official of the land, if I did not unburden myself of my insights into the character of Mr. Estrada.
Marahil may mga magsasabi na sa mga binigkas ko ngayon ay hindi ako marunong tumanaw ng utang na loob, lalo na sa pangulong siyang naghirang sa akin.
Ngunit hindi naman din matatawaran ang naibahagi kong tulong, sampu ng aking mga tauhan, sa kanyang katanyagan nung siya ay nanunungkulang bise-presidente at bilang Chairman ng Presidential Anti-Crime Commission.
Ang mas mahalaga ay pairalin ang marapat at matuwid.
At lalong mahalaga na gawing kataas-taasang adhikain ang kapakanan at kinabukasan ng mamamayang Pilipino.
God save the Philippines from Joseph Ejercito alias Joseph Estrada.
*****
SENATOR PANFILO M. LACSON
September 14, 2009
In Greek drama, masks were useful devices that allow the actor to play several different characters.
In the Philippine political drama, nothing much differs.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues. Today, I rise on a matter of personal and collective privilege.
The great American writer Elbert Green Hubbard once wrote:
If you work for a man, in heaven’s name work for him.... If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage, resign your position, and when you are OUTSIDE, DAMN TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT, but as long as you are part of the institution do not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosening the tendrils that are holding you to that institution, and at the first high wind that comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away, and will probably never know the reason why.
I hope you will understand why it has taken me this long to unburden myself of the truth I carry.
Having once been a professional soldier trained in the tradition and practice of institutional and even personal loyalty, only the higher interest of nation and people, and the highest call of conscience, impel me to speak out.
Mr. President, you, more than any of us in this hall, understand what I mean.
When you went through the gut-wrenching crucible of mutiny against your commander-in-chief on February 22, 1986, you had to choose between loyalty to person against loyalty to the higher interest of nation and people.
Jose Ejercito, or Joseph Estrada, also known as Jose Velarde, former president of the Republic of the Philippines and the first and only head of state of this country to be impeached by Congress was elected in 1998 with the highest number of votes cast by the Filipino people ever.
He also won by the biggest margin ever, over his closest opponent, Jose de Venecia Jr.
His campaign slogan –Erap para sa Mahirap – was a masterpiece, almost a stroke of genius.
Before he ran for the presidency, I worked with him closely as head of an anti-crime task force of the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Commission formed by then President Fidel Valdez Ramos to combat the kidnapping scourge that was gripping the country.
Foreign investors were avoiding us, while local businessmen, especially the ethnic Chinese, were transferring elsewhere.
It was one big security and even economic threat that faced the newly elected president in 1992.
I joined then Vice President Estrada on August 4, 1992, after a short-lived stint as provincial director of Laguna in the Southern Tagalog region.
I gladly accepted the offer to join PACC since I was not happy anyway with my Laguna assignment.
I was consistently at loggerheads with most of the local elective officials when I waged a no-nonsense, uncompromising battle against the illegal numbers game, jueteng, in that jurisdiction.
Needless to say, those officials who were on the take from jueteng operators hated my guts and wanted me out of the province at first opportunity.
At the PACC, and it is a matter of public record, we scored high in our anti-crime efforts. In less than a year, we brought down an alarmingly high incidence of kidnap-for-ransom cases to zero.
Literally, zero.
This was highlighted by the neutralization of the dreaded Red Scorpion Group on February 17, 1993.
Modesty aside, but without mental reservation, I can dare say our performance helped chart Mr. Estrada’s road to the presidency.
More than a couple of years before the May 1998 presidential elections, he was virtually a president-in-waiting.
Mr. Estrada impressed me with the way he handled his subordinates. He personally took care of our needs, always mindful of our safety and security.
He also managed to personally thank and commend all the operatives for a good day’s work, even giving incentives after big accomplishments
It was his personal recommendation to then President Ramos that earned me my first star rank in 1994, way ahead of my peers and even senior officers in the Philippine National Police.
During our private conversations, he would tell me:
“Alam mo Ping, kung matitigil lang ang katiwalian sa ating bansa, siguradong maiaangat natin mula sa kahirapan ang karamihan ng ating mga kababayan. Napakalaki kasi ang nawawala sa budget dahil sa ‘corruption’, kaya hindi tayo makaahon sa hirap.”
Having been born to poor parents myself, he struck me as the man our country needed to lead our people.
Needless to say, I was impressed.
I would tell my men and as many people I could reach, “Kung mahal natin ang ating bansa, si Erap ang dapat nating maging susunod na presidente at wala nang iba.”
I put those words into action during the presidential campaign in 1998.
Under pain of being accused of electioneering, I mustered all the men I had worked with in the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to mount an organized strategic effort to thwart election fraud as that could be the only way to prevent Mr. Estrada’s victory in the 1998 presidential election.
My men and I went around the whole country - Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, talked to as many field commanders and chiefs of police, so that they would not allow themselves to be used as instruments to cheat Mr Estrada out of sure victory.
In one of our visits in Mindanao, I met with then Southcom Chief Lt. Gen. Joselin Nazareno.
I brought him to Vice President Estrada to make his personal commitment to guard the votes in Mindanao and made Mr Estrada promise to consider him as the next AFP Chief of Staff when he becomes president.
He did not just promise to consider. He committed the post to Gen. Nazareno.
So Erap became president, all right.
After his victory in May 1998, he started making announcements for possible appointments to key positions in his government.
One not-so-fine afternoon, he summoned me to his Polk St. Greenhills residence and asked if he could appoint another ranking general as AFP Chief of Staff, instead of Gen. Nazareno.
I told him, that was his prerogative as incoming commander-in-chief, but firmly reminded him that a promise was made to Gen. Nazareno.
His sudden amnesia got me to start thinking, “something could be wrong with the character of this man.”
This thought came again sometime in early June of 1998.
He called me to talk about what I thought would be my possible appointment as Chief, PNP.
Instead, he expressed his thoughts on jueteng and how he intended to deal with it during his presidency.
He said: “Ping, iniisip ko, pagbigyan na lang natin itong jueteng. Alam mo, ang mga governors at mayors, lalo na ‘yung mga tumulong sa akin sa eleksyon, wala sila ng katulad sa President’s social fund na galing sa Pagcor. Marami silang gastusin at sa jueteng lang nila pwedeng kunin ang pera.”
Shocked and surprised, I retorted, “Sir, ilegal ‘yan. Saka presidente na kayo. Dapat huwag na kayong makialam sa jueteng. Larong lupa pati iyan. Sasabog kayo diyan at masisira tayo pareho.
Visibly dismayed and irritated, he said, “Sige, saka na lang tayo mag-usap.”
He walked me to the main door of his house and used another tack: “Saka, Ping, ‘yung mga tao natin dati sa task force, gusto ko rin silang bigyan ng monthly allowance.”
To which I quickly replied: “Sir, ang mga tao natin, kami lahat, mababaw lang ang kaligayahan namin. Kahit additional subsistence allowance lang, happy na kami.”
Hiding his irritation, he gave me a quick and curt goodbye.
Finally on November 16, 1999, I was appointed Chief, PNP. But only after persistent second thoughts from the appointing authority.
On November 15 of the same year, I received a call from his cohort, Mr. Jaime Dichavez, who was, at that time, with Mr. Estrada in Tagaytay Highlands in Cavite.
Mr. Dichavez told me I was to be informed of my appointment as Chief, PNP.
It did not turn out to be that simple.
In the living room of the Tagaytay resthouse, he told me very seriously: “Ping, dapat pagbigyan natin ang operation ng jueteng. Maraming umaasa diyan.”
“Eto na naman kami,” I said to myself.
By that time, I had realized jueteng had always been the deal breaker in getting my impending appointment and must be the reason why I was not appointed in June of 1998.
Maintaining my immovable position that I cannot, as we must not, tolerate anything that is illegal, he asked, “Sino ba ang mas senior sa inyo ni Wycoco?” (referring to the late NBI director, Reynaldo Wycoco), to which I answered, “Kung seniority sir sa PMA (Philippine Military Academy), siya, dahil una siyang nag-graduate. Pero ngayon, pareho lang kaming 2-star general, sir.”
He did not appoint me right there, instead instructed me to follow his convoy back to Malacañang in Metro Manila.
It was in Malacañang, that same evening, that he finally informed me of my appointment to the position, but not without his “huling hirit sa jueteng.”
It was also during that conversation when I told him I was aware of the monthly P5 Million “S.O.P.” being given by Gov. Chavit Singson to the Chief, PNP as part of an organized payola, and that I was waiving it, therefore would not accept it.
Three or four months after my assumption of office, I learned that Mr. Estrada asked Gov. Singson to remit to him retroactively the monies intended for the Chief, PNP.
He told Gov. Singson: “Gov, baka akala mo, hindi ko alam na hindi kinukuha ng bagong Chief,PNP ang para sa kanya. Ibigay mo rin sa akin ‘yan.”
After all the internal reforms that I instituted in the PNP were in place, including my “no-take policy, anti-kotong campaign, 34-inch maximum waistline, strong anti-crime and anti-drugs campaign, proper allocation and downloading of funds, and logistics to front-line units, I started training my guns on the illegal numbers game – jueteng.
It was a no-nonsense, no-matter-who-gets-hurt kind of a campaign.
I thought if I was hard on lowly policemen who stopped mulcting P100 or P200 from vegetable dealers and hapless taxi cab and jeepney drivers out of deference to my no-take policy, I should be as hard, if not harder, against my regional and provincial directors who were raking in millions of pesos from gambling operators.
This was when my life started to become miserable.
The general public, even most of my distinguished colleagues in this hall, may not be aware of this, but it was common knowledge in Malacañang as well as in Camp Crame at that time, that for the most part of the second half of the year 2000, I was not welcome in the palace due to my differences with then President Estrada over the issue of jueteng.
Mr. Estrada had unofficially declared me persona non grata in the palace grounds.
I was practically in the doghouse for an unusually extended period of time. Mr. Estrada would not talk to me.
He was dealing directly with my subordinate officers, both at the PAOCTF and the PNP, which I both headed in concurrent capacity.
I could not even report to him about major incidents like the bombings in Mindanao because he was no longer answering my calls, which he used to do, and in earnest.
“Anak ng jueteng na buhay ito!” I would tell my close friends.
Jueteng became a sore point between me and Mr. Estrada. I made it clear that I would stick to my “no-take policy” and I continued to issue stern warnings to my regional and provincial directors that if they tolerate jueteng operations in their areas of responsibility, they would be removed and subjected to harsh disciplinary action.
At least one regional director who had direct and strong connections with Mr Estrada was defiant.
When I confronted him, he said, “Napagalitan ako ni presidente nang simulan ko ang kampanya laban sa jueteng dito. Sino ba ang susundin ko, Chief, PNP o ang Commander-in-Chief?”
I was successful in instituting reforms in the PNP because Mr. Estrada gave me full authority which I asked in the first place when I got appointed to the post.
But because of jueteng, Mr Estrada, issued a written memorandum to then Secretary of Interior and Local Government Alfredo Lim, effectively taking away from me the authority to appoint and remove police officials down to provincial director level.
“Hindi nga talaga mahina ang ulo ng presidenteng ito,” I told myself. By removing that authority, I could no longer discipline my officers, I would fail in my anti-gambling operations and worse, I would definitely fail in my mission.
Resigning my position crossed my mind then. I spent many sleepless nights agonizing over my situation.
In one of our Cluster E Cabinet meetings held in the office of the DFA, then AFP Chief of Staff Gen Angelo Reyes took pity on me and gave his advice, “Pare, Commander-in-Chief natin ‘yan. Pagbigyan mo na muna ngayon at saka ninyo na lang pag-usapan ang problema ninyo ni Presidente.”
I answered him, “Sir, question de prinsipyo ito. Ako ang nasa tama sa labang ito. Tanggalin na lang n’ya ako, pero hindi ako bibigay dito.”
I found out later that indeed Mr. Estrada had started gathering legal basis to justify my relief.
On hindsight, people close to Mr. Estrada and this representation would say as an afterthought - EDSA 2 could not have happened had Mr Estrada listened to General Lacson’s consistent advice on jueteng. Simple.
But on the other hand, EDSA 2 would not have happened if I went along with Mr. Estrada and Gov. Singson and altogether tolerated jueteng operations.
Why?
Bingo 2-Ball would not have been conceived to legalize jueteng.
We all know that it was during its implementation that there was a misunderstanding and falling out between Mr. Estrada and Chavit Singson.
Mr. Estrada realized that I would not waver on my stand against jueteng and thought that by legalizing it, I would not have any more reason to conduct raids and operations.
Jueteng is just one illustrative insight into the character of Mr. Estrada as a government official, and as President of the country. There were other sinister behavioral patterns that must be told to the Filipino people.
Sa likod ng isang maka-mahirap na Joseph Estrada na mahal na mahal ng masa, ay maraming transaksyon na may kasamang pang-aabuso, gamit ang kapangyarihang kaagapay ng pagiging pangulo ng bansa, upang magkamal ng maraming salapi para sa sariling kapakanan.
In August 1998, in the early part of Mr. Estrada’s abbreviated presidency, Mr. Alfonso Yuchengco was pressured to sign conveyance of his 7.75% PTIC (Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation) holdings, equivalent to 18,720 shares to Metro Pacific, represented by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
These PTIC holdings correspond to 2,017,650 PLDT common shares.
Mr. Yuchengco, I also learned later, was pressed to sign a waiver of his right of first refusal over the PTIC shares of the Cojuangco-Meer group.
It was only after the passage of many years that I was to learn that Mr. Estrada, barely two months in office then, used the PNP to harass Mr. Yuchengco’s son, Tito, with threat of arrest on some trumped-up drug charges to force his father, Mr. Yuchengco to sell.
This harassment of the young man was accomplished through deliberate and obvious physical surveillance.
“Napag-alaman ko na matagal tagal ding may kimkim na galit daw sa akin ang pamilyang Yuchengco sa dahilang ang pagkaalam nila ay sa akin iniutos ni Mr Estrada ang panggigipit sa kanila upang mapwersang magbenta ng kanilang pag-aaring shares of stocks ng PLDT.
Sa inyo, Ginoong Pangulo ng Senado, mga pinagpipitaganan kong kasamahan at sampu ng pamilya Yuchengco -- wala po akong kamalay-malay sa pangyayaring iyan.
At kung halimbawa mang sa akin iniutos ni Mr Estrada ang gawaing iyon, ay siguradong hindi ko po susundin.”
The bigger and more important question remains - “What was the deal in pesos and centavos between Mr Estrada and Mr Pangilinan, if any?”
Or, should we rather ask, “How much was involved?”
Sa larangan naman ng smuggling sa Customs at sa iba pang lugar ay hindi rin masusukat ang kakayahan ni Mr. Estrada.
When Mr. Estrada transferred the mission of going after smugglers from the late Lt Gen. Jose Calimlim’s unit in PSG to the PAOCTF, he gave me the mandate to go hammer and tongs against smugglers.
Yet one morning, I received a call from Mr. Estrada. “May mga tao ka raw na nangha-harass sa Customs,” he said with a low tone.
After checking with my officers, I replied, “Wala sila sir sa loob ng Customs zone kaya imposibleng makapang-harass sila doon. Nandun sila sa labas, malapit sa Manila Hotel at may inaabangan na ilulusot na shipments ng dressed chicken parts from China and the US.”
He bellowed, “Basta i-pull out mo!”
A few days later in a light conversation on the topic of smuggling, inside his office in Malacañang, I told Mr. Estrada, “Alam mo sir, dalawampung 40-foot containers sana ng dressed chickens ang nahuli natin kung hindi mo iniutos i-pull out ang mga tao natin.”
With a mocking voice, he said, “Sana hindi kayo nag-pull out.”
Akala ko, nang bigyan ako ng kautusang lipulin ang mga smugglers sa pier, totoong-totoo at seryoso. Ako namang si gago, trabaho lang ng trabaho. ‘Yun pala, moro-moro.
May dalawang mukha nga ba ang sining? O, sa likod ng putting tabing ay ibang itsura ng mukha ang nakatago?
Pagkatapos ng manok na galing sa Tsina at Amerika, dumako naman tayo sa bigas na tanim ng Vietcong.
Sometime in August 2000, when Mr. Estrada was hardly talking to me, on account of my hard-headedness on the issue of jueteng, he was giving a direct order to one of my subordinate officers in PAOCTF to release a shipload of smuggled rice that was apprehended somewhere in the Cebu-Bohol area.
The PAOCTF officer was with me in Cebu during that time, and he was relaying to me the President’s order.
I did not bother to find out anymore if the officer complied or not with Mr. Estrada’s order.
I thought I should not interfere with a direct order coming from the President to a subordinate officer because in doing so I felt that it would add insult to injury upon myself.
Sadly, because we never punish smugglers, the same people who sabotaged our economy during the Estrada regime are the same saboteurs in bed with the present dispensation.
Walang nagbago, lalo lang lumaki ang komisyon at lagayan.
In an effort to defend himself from accusations that he may have been involved in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, he has consistently asserted that he never dealt with officials other than the heads of agencies.
Yet, on so many occasions, and I have personal knowledge on this, during his presidency, he was giving direct orders and instructions deep into the layers of the entire government bureaucracy, the PNP and the PAOCTF included.
And those who have worked with him in Malacañang know whereof I speak.
Mr. Estrada had the temerity to issue a press statement that I was the one who knew and in fact supervised what former police officer Cezar Mancao had testified in court as “Operation or Oplan Delta”, allegedly a special operations plan designed to neutralize Salvador “Bubby” Dacer.
Mabuti pa si Mr. Estrada, alam niyang may “Oplan Delta.” Ako, sa mga pahayagan at kamakailan ko lamang narinig at nalaman na mayroon palang “Oplan Delta.”
Sa halip na i-depensa na lang niya ang sarili niya, bakit siya kailangang magturo ng iba?
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, maraming bagay-bagay na sa abot ng aking natuklasan, matapos ang aking sariling pagsasaliksik at pag-iimbestiga hindi lamang sa usaping ito kundi pati ibang kasong maaring kinasangkutan ni Ginoong Estrada ang nais kong ibahagi sa kapulungang ito.
Marami din akong gustong itanong kay Mr. Estrada:
1. Sino ang inutusan mo para i-harass at gipitin ang pamilya ni Al Yuchengco?
2. Sino ang tumawag sa iyo para utusan ako na i-pull out ang mga tao kong nakaabang na hulihin ang smuggled chicken parts?
3. Kaninong shipment ng smuggled rice ang ipina-release mo sa Cebu?
4. At higit sa lahat, anu-ano pa ang mga iniutos mo sa ating mga dating tauhan sa PAOCTF na lingid sa aking kaalaman?
But for now and today, I will limit the subject of my privilege speech to the issues I mentioned.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, with your indulgence, please allow me to take the floor once again on Monday next week.
For former President Joseph Ejercito-Estrada, there is no corruption if it does not involve government funds.
Therefore, following his flawed logic, it is not corruption to accept bribes - from jueteng and some shady deals that involve using the power and influence of the presidency.
He has not heard of ‘conflict of interest’ nor taking advantage of one’s position to amass wealth.
He has not changed that loose definition of corruption.
In media interviews and in his conversations with friends and associates, he maintains that he had not done anything wrong since all his transactions while he was president did not involve government funds.
Now he is presenting himself again to the Filipino people, for one more chance at the presidency.
At this juncture of our history, after suffering eight years of unmitigated corruption under the regime which succeeded the Estrada presidency, I would be remiss in my sworn duties as an elected member of the Senate, as a nationally elected official of the land, if I did not unburden myself of my insights into the character of Mr. Estrada.
Marahil may mga magsasabi na sa mga binigkas ko ngayon ay hindi ako marunong tumanaw ng utang na loob, lalo na sa pangulong siyang naghirang sa akin.
Ngunit hindi naman din matatawaran ang naibahagi kong tulong, sampu ng aking mga tauhan, sa kanyang katanyagan nung siya ay nanunungkulang bise-presidente at bilang Chairman ng Presidential Anti-Crime Commission.
Ang mas mahalaga ay pairalin ang marapat at matuwid.
At lalong mahalaga na gawing kataas-taasang adhikain ang kapakanan at kinabukasan ng mamamayang Pilipino.
God save the Philippines from Joseph Ejercito alias Joseph Estrada.
*****
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Statement on Mancao's Claims
Either Mancao deliberately lied under oath or he didn't know what he was talking about in court. I am sorry for him. While I can understand the tremendous pressure being applied by this administration on him, he should at least stick to the truth and respect his oath by stating only the facts and not hearsays and his opinion.
For the nth time, I maintain my innocence and even absence of knowledge pertaining to the Dacer-Corbito case.
o0o
For the nth time, I maintain my innocence and even absence of knowledge pertaining to the Dacer-Corbito case.
o0o
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Statement on the Death of Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Eraño G. Manalo
I commiserate with the faithful on the passing of the pillar and the executive minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo, Eraño G. Manalo.
For the last five decades, he showed the strength of his faith and dedication to continue his father’s vocation. He inspired charity for the poor, and encouraged others to do the same.
His passing has made us orphans but we are consoled by the legacy of his actions and the constancy of his church.
I extend my profound sympathies.
o0o
For the last five decades, he showed the strength of his faith and dedication to continue his father’s vocation. He inspired charity for the poor, and encouraged others to do the same.
His passing has made us orphans but we are consoled by the legacy of his actions and the constancy of his church.
I extend my profound sympathies.
o0o
Prayer delivered at the start of Senate session, Sept. 1, 2009
Ama Naming Makapangyarihan:
Sa kanyang pagpanaw at pagpasok sa iyong Kaharian, Ama naming Makapangyarihan, hiling namin na Iyong kalingain ang aming minamahal at iginagalang na Ka Eraño Manalo.
Nawa'y panatilihin Mong buhay ang kanyang mabuting halimbawa sa puso at isipan ng sambayanan.
Marapatin mong ipagpatuloy namin, kasama ng buong Iglesia, ang kanyang mga nasimulan na adhikain at mapagyaman nawa namin ang kanyang iniwang aral at pamantayan sa tungkulin at pananampalataya.
Sa iyong ngalan, ito ang hiling namin. Amen.
o0o
Sa kanyang pagpanaw at pagpasok sa iyong Kaharian, Ama naming Makapangyarihan, hiling namin na Iyong kalingain ang aming minamahal at iginagalang na Ka Eraño Manalo.
Nawa'y panatilihin Mong buhay ang kanyang mabuting halimbawa sa puso at isipan ng sambayanan.
Marapatin mong ipagpatuloy namin, kasama ng buong Iglesia, ang kanyang mga nasimulan na adhikain at mapagyaman nawa namin ang kanyang iniwang aral at pamantayan sa tungkulin at pananampalataya.
Sa iyong ngalan, ito ang hiling namin. Amen.
o0o
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