PING TO BLANQUITA: TELL ALL ON PALACES SMEAR TACTICS

Now that she has decided to bare Malacañang s hand behind her daughters filing of charges against former President Joseph Estrada, businesswoman Blanquita Pelaez should now take one more step forward and tell all about the Palaces smear drives against opposition figures.

While I have long forgiven those who vilified me in the past, Mrs. Pelaez owes it to the public to disclose how Malacañang manipulated her and others into making false charges against Mr. Estrada, myself, and other personalities critical of the Arroyo government, said re-electionist Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Wednesday.

Sana hindi piecemeal maliwanagan siya, pati yung mga ginawa sa akin, kung ano ang totoo, ang totoo lang, sana sabihin niya rin (I hope she does not make piecemeal revelations. I hope she also tells the truth about what was done to me. Just the truth), Lacson said at an interview during his and his wife Alices sortie in Baclaran.

He was referring to the purchase by the Philippine National Police (PNP) of handcuffs imported by Pelaez during the Estrada presidency. Shortly after he was installed as PNP chief, Lacson refused to pay the importation taxes, which he said would be disadvantageous to the government.

Yet, he said that the Philippine government went after him instead of defending his action, especially after Mrs. Arroyo took power in 2001.

Pelaez was also part of a so-called fact-finding team that went to the United States to look into his alleged ill-gotten wealth. But Lacson said the witchhunt was a bust as the team led by then top military spy Victor Corpus failed to establish basis to formally charge him for it.

Alam kong may nasa likod ni Pelaez sa paghahabol sa akin sa America. Alam kong Palasyo ang nasa likod ni Blanquita noong ako ang binabanatan nila (I know some people in the Palace were behind Blanquita when they hounded me in America), he said.

Meanwhile, Lacson questioned a memorandum from the Department of Education barring schools from inviting candidates to graduation rites, saying students have the right to at least choose who will address them on Graduation Day. He said the memorandum was too arbitrary and whimsical.

Sa akin kandidato man o hindi kung sila ang pinipili ng estudyante at member ng faculty dapat igalang ang kagustuhan ng mga estudyante. After all sila ang magtatapos. Napakaimportanteng araw sa kanila ang pagtatapos nila. Pagbigyan naman sila kung sino gusto nila makaharap at magsalita sa kanila (To me, students have the right to pick who will address them on Graduation Day, whether its a candidate or not. Graduation Day is important for them. They should have the right to choose), he said.