Manila, Philippines. February 3, 2011. Fugitive Philippine Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson was cleared by the Court of Appeals of any involvement in the brutal slaying of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito. They were abducted in the business district of Makati and Dacer’s car was later dumped somewhere in the outskirts of the province of Cavite.
Saying there was no probable cause to implicate Lacson in the murders; the appellate court reversed the ruling of the Manila City Regional Trial Court and ordered it to revoke the arrest warrant issued against the fugitive senator.
Lacson has been in hiding since the Regional Trial Court in Manila issued an arrest warrant in February 2010. With the revocation of the arrest warrant, it is expected that Lacson will soon show himself in public.
The ultimate reasons for Dacer’s murder remain a subject of debate. Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos has publicly accused his successor, Joseph Estrada, of giving the original order — Estrada was mired in a corruption scandal at the time, and according to some reports, Estrada believed Dacer was helping Ramos destabilize his rule.
Meanwhile, Bubby Dacer’s daughter who is currently based in Redwood City, California stated that she has not given up hope. The Dacers have filed a civil suit against Lacson in the US. They are seeking US$120 million in damages. Handling the case for them is Attorney Rodel Rodis, a well-respected Filipino lawyer in San Francisco.
With this recent court ruling, there is now doubt in the public eye if Lacson was indeed the mastermind behind the Dacer-Corbito murders. There is strong belief that a higher authority was really behind the assassination of the publicist.