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Mancao lawyer, Erap Cabinet clear Estrada on Lacson raps

09/16/2009

The lawyer of Cezar Mancao, Ferdinand Topacio, yesterday cleared former President Joseph Estrada of having a hand in the double murder case which Sen. Panfilo Lacson tried to link Estrada in his privilege speech last Monday, while claiming that Estrada was dealing directly with his men, and bypassing him.

Topacio, in a statement read by Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, said:

"In my honest opinion, as a lawyer, and based on the evidence so far deduced in court by my client, Cezar Mancao ll, the only direct evidence with respect to the mastermind in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case pertains to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

"The evidence regarding the participation of former President Joseph Estrada in the said crime

is at best sketchy thus far. And in my humble opinion, will not pass muster either in a court of law or before any preliminary investigation in the Department of Justice."

The statement of Topacio cleared Estrada and pinned the murder on Lacson, thus weakening Lacson’s allegations of Estrada’s involvement in the double murder.

At the same time, the former Cabinet secretaries of Estrada issued statement saying that the former President does not give direct orders as he respects the chain of command

They said they can attest that Estrada’s management style was to give full authority to Cabinet secretaries or heads of agencies and offices to achieve the goals of their different departments; and that he would never bypass their authority.

The Estrada Cabinet said: "The Cabinet is one in observing and attesting that President Estrada was not a micro manager. All of us from his Cabinet experienced his management style, which was that he would allow us to perform our tasks but he would hold us responsible and accountable for our sphere of responsibilities, making sure only that we were achieving our department goals in line with or on the basis of public service."

Finance Secretary Jose "Titoy" Pardo added, "Delegating authority to heads of departments, offices or agencies, is a trademark of Erap’s management style so you cannot fault him with interfering in the affairs of a department. Even in the appointment of officials for each department, unlike other administrations, Erap would allow the head of the department to appoint his own staff. "

Lenny de Jesus, for her part as head of the Presidential Management Staff in Malacanang added, "Erap was not the kind of leader who would give orders to those below Cabinet level because he respected the chain of command, not only in the military but in the entire bureaucracy. I worked closely with him in Malacañang and can tell you that he would always course everything through the proper heads of office."

Their statement belies Lacson’s claim that Estrada, during his presidency, micro-managed and gave orders directly to Lacson’s men, bypassing him.

Yet another charge made by Lacson against Estrada was that the former leader was involved in the smuggling of rice and other items.

But industry leaders belied Lacson’s charge, saying that the former president was 100 percent against smuggling.

Leaders from the agricultural industry yesterday stood up against statements of Lacson in his privilege speech that President Estrada participated, encouraged or even condoned smuggling.

Mr. Nicolas Alonzo, former head of the Sugar Regulatory Administration; Mr. Enrique Rojas, President of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters; and Mr. Manolet Lamaza, head of the United Sugar Federation of the Philippines or Unifed came together to collectively state that former President Estrada was 100 percent against smuggling.

Testifying on their experience in the sugar industry, Lamaza, head of the Unifed, speaking for the leaders, said that they personally witnessed the former president’s commitment to ending smuggling in the country, explaining that, "As president, Erap was able to confiscate over a billion pesos worth of smuggled sugar."

Recall that the Estrada administration created a task force to stop sugar smuggling in the country, then headed by General Calimlim. This task force was able to apprehend and confiscate smuggled sugar with a total of 1,086,944 bags or 54,347.20 metric tons with a value of P1.1 billion, he said.

Lamaza belied the statements of Lacson saying that Estrada would not be a good leader for the Philippines, pointing out that the former president was in fact the president who showed real results and commitment to uplifting the agricultural industry. "He is the only president since the creation of the Commonwealth that has given P1.2 billion for agriculture when he mandated that sugar imports be bid out. At the height of the Asian financial crisis, when world market prices for sugar went down, he also ensured that the Philippine sugar industry would sustain its competitiveness by maintaining tariffs at 85 percent. I distinctly remember that on this issue he said, ‘If I have to protect the Filipinos and the Philippine sugar industry, I will do it."

Even former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, Gen. Angelo Reyes, now the Energy Secretary vouched for the integrity of Estrada, citing his first-hand experiences as the military chief during his presidency.

Secretary Reyes said that as a general serving in Mindanao and later on as AFP chief, he had not received a single irregular, much more an illegal order, from Estrada.

Reyes made the statement in reaction to the privilege speech of Lacson Monday: "I know President Estrada. I served under him. I was commander in Mindanao at South Com and as AFP Chief of Staff for one year. And during those times, he (Estrada) had not given me any illegal order," said Reyes.

"He had not asked me for anything that was in violation of the law. So, we have respect for each, and I am proud to say that there is nothing I can say that could tarnish the reputation of former President Estrada."

Reyes said that jueteng was outside his field of responsibility as AFP chief and that he had told Lacson to talk with Estrada, their commander in chief, with the end view of solving the problem.

While he said he can no longer remember the details of his talk with Lacson, Reyes said that any advice he had given Lacson was in the context of a senior officer stressing that any problem should be resolved as a team and through communication.

Meanwhile, the Philppine Long Distance Co, yesterday debunked Lacson’s claim that the sale of the PTIC shares then owned by Alfonso Yuchengco was neither coerced nor did Estrada interfere in the sale.

Ray Espinosa, Manuel Pangilinan’s legal counsel, said in a statement that "the purchase of the PTIC shares was fully commercial and above board. It involved detailed negotiation and agreement as to price and other commercial considerations. The price for the PTIC shares was fixed at substantial premium over the stock market price of the underlying PLDT shares at that time and was fully paid on Nov. 24, 1998. The other commercial considerations involving major banking and insurance transactions between the Yuchengco group and the PLDT group continue up to the present time.

With respect to recent statements regarding the acquisition of PTIC shareholdings, I wish to point out that Mr. Pangilinan and the entire PLDT group have maintained very good relations with the Yuchengco family and their various businesses.

Furthermore, as part of the terms of the purchase of the PTIC shares of the Yuchengco group, PLDT, for the last 11 years has been using Malayan Insurance, an insurance company owned and controlled by the Yuchengco group, to insure the properties of the entire PLDT group, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), a universal bank owned and controlled by the Yuchengco group, as one of the major banks of the PLDT group.

RCBC, apart from being a major lender to the PLDT group, acts as the dividend paying agent and stock transfer agent for PLDTfs preferred shares of stock. With Gerry Baldo and Tribune wires