Sino’ng
best
friend mo? Ask that to Sen. Panfilo Lacson and he might as well answer
“Si Vic at si Ador.
Col.
Victor Corpus is, of course, the chief of the Intelligence Service of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) who is hot on Lacson’s money trail.
Angelo “Ador” Mawanay his ward who has so far supplied the most damaging
leads on Lacson’s alleged smuggling, kidnapping, murder and drug-trafficking
activities.
How
in heaven’s name can they be considered Lacson’s best friends? Simple. By
bungling the cases against Lacson, they will make him the cleanest guy for
president in 2004. It’s another one of those “only in the Philippines”
stories.
If
the Senate investigation last Friday was any indication, then Corpus and
Mawanay, wittingly or not, are doing just what Lacson wants – set him up for
exoneration at least in the public mind.
What
was dubbed as a showdown between Corpus and Lacson turned out to be an
inquisition of Corpus and Mawanay by the Senate Old Boy’s Club. The two men
found themselves the accussed instead of being the accusers. No wonder Corpus
wore a confused and pained look all throughout.
The
senators seemed more intent in discrediting Corpus and Mawanay, and clearing
Lacson and themselves, than in getting to the bottom of things. They
questioned the motives of both men, and centered on allegations which had
nothing to do with Lacson or his crimes. Funny for an investigation meant to
shed light on Lacson’s criminal activities.
Sen.
Noli de Castro wanted to clear his name of Mawanay’s earlier allegation that
he received payola from then PNP Chief Panfilo Lacson when he was still a
newsman. Sen. Legarda wanted Mawanay to retract an earlier statement that she
bought P8.9 million worth of smuggled cellphones from him.
Curiosly,
both allegations against de Castro and Legarda were never in the affidavits
nor evidences presented by Corpus and Mawanay to the Senate. At best, they
were uttered in earlier media interviews by the overeager Mawanay.
By
focusing on the side issues, both senators diverted the fire away from Lacson
and to themselves. Maybe Lacson should add the two senators to his list of
newfound friends.
The
tendency of the senators to save their own skins notwithstanding, Corpus,
Mawanay and the ISAFP have only themselves to blame for their dismall
performance so far in pinning down Lacson. Since Mawanay’s expose of
Lacson’s and the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Task Frorce’s (PAOCTF’s)
involvement in the abduction of former casino employee Edgar Bentain and other
henious crimes, all they have really done is make a lot of noise.
No
case has yet been filed against Lacson using any of Mawanay’s testimonies.
There have been numerous press conferences and media interviews but nothing to
bring Lacson to the proper courts. It makes you wonder what they really have
on the guy.
Doubts
have already emerged about Mawanay’s testimony, if not his state of mind.
Lawyer Antonio Carpio, who served as presidential legal adviser to then Pres.
Fidel Ramos and is known to be close to the First Couple, wrote in his Inquirer
column last Sunday that Ador’s incredible testimony is tailor-made to
clear Lacson.
Carpio
says it was Mawanay who provided the leads on Lacson’s alleged bank accounts
abroad, claiming he hacked into Citibank’s database to get the information.
Ador is also said to have claimed selling 10,000 cellphones to then Sen. Raul
Roco who issued a P89 million check, payable to cash, for the purchase.
If
what Carpio says is true, then the joke’s on Corpus, who told the Senate
Mawanay was a credible witness because he was endorsed by a Jesuit priest and
a civil society activist turned presidential appointee. He also said he
trusted Mawanay since he came to the ISAFP headquarters with his loving wife
and two great children. Lastly, he passed a couple of lie-detector tests. You
hear that and you wonder if, truly, the term “military intelligence” is an
oxymoron.
The
danger with Corpus’s and Mawanay’s latest allegations about Lacson is that
if proven untrue or left unconfirmed, it may affect the existing cases against
Lacson and the PAOCTF in the Bobby Dacer abduction and Kuratong Baleleng
massacre. As Carpio notes, Lacson’s lawyers might use the Mawanay expose to
prove that Corpus is capable of fabricating evindences.
But
the danger goes beyond the legal arena. In the bar of public opinion,
Lacson’s spin doctors will surely use Corpus’s and Mawanay’s discredited
or unproven testimonies to portray their client as the underdog and a victim
of injustice and character assassination by the AFP, the Church, the
pro-Arroyo oligarchs and the Left. Perfect stuff for any aspiring
presidentiable.
If
that happens, the bigger joke will be on the Filipino people who will vote
Lacson for president in 2004. Bulatlat.com
