Senator Panfilo Lacson has to face the murder charges against him after Malaca?ang rejected on Monday the appeal of his family to order the re-investigation of the Dacer-Corbito case and suspension of the arrest warrant against the elusive lawmaker. Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said the Palace has to honor the legal processes related to the case and would not meddle with affairs of the judiciary in deference to the separate and independent branch of government. Coloma, in a press conference in the Palace, urged instead Lacson to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the court, asserting that nobody is above the law. “We need to honor the legal processes because it is the duty of the executive department, executive branch of government to implement the laws of the land,” he said. Besides, Coloma pointed out, the Palace has no power to suspend the warrant of arrest against Lacson. “This is an order of court,” he said. He also explained that government agencies, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, are merely following the court's order on the cancellation of his passport to compel him face the charges. Lacson fled the country early this year shortly before the court issued an arrest warrant in connection with his supposed involvement in the murder of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000. Authorities have been looking for him since then. Coloma assured that Lacson's right to a fair and speedy trial will be protected as soon as he surrenders to authorities. He said Lacson should not worry that he might be prosecuted by the government with the assumption of new leadership. “Our government is fully committed to equal and full protection of the citizens under our laws,” he said. Coloma warned though that “no person is above the law and any person that is under the jurisdiction of the court must submit to such jurisdiction and follow its lawful orders.” On the possible house arrest of Lacson pending the murder trial, Coloma said the Palace has no discretion on the matter and will not interfere with the court's affairs. Any appeal of the Lacson family should be brought to the judiciary and not the Palace, Coloma added. “Only the court can decide on the matter. Under our principle of separation of powers, the executive department should not interfere with the jurisdiction of the judiciary,” he said. Asked if the Palace is disappointed that Lacson has yet to be found, he said law enforcement authorities are doing their best to locate the senator and bring him to court as ordered by the court. Meanwhile, a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Sen. Panfilo Lacson be put into the custody of the Upper Chamber is now being mulled. Sen. Gregorio Honasan, a colleague and a former classmate of Lacson, on Monday said senators would be discussing the move to consider the possibility of applying the same policy they accorded to detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who is also detained and facing rebellion and coup d' etat case. “We will be discussing this with Senate President (Juan Ponce Enrile) and other colleagues to consider the possibility of applying the same sense of the Senate that Sen. Lacson, pending conviction, the Senate should be allowed an opportunity to gain custody of him,” Honasan told reporters in an interview. “Maybe this will encourage him to surface and to subject himself to due process,” Honasan said. Honasan aired this proposal a day after Lacson's family disclosed that their patriarch is ready to face his accusers. Lacson's camp made the announcement after the Department of Foreign Affairs canceled his passport. But Lacson does not want to be incarcerated “even for one day” for a crime he did not commit. According to Honasan, the Senate can gain custody of their colleague while he is undergoing trial for the 2000 double murder of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito, which is punishable of a more than six years imprisonment.
