'Dismissal of arrest warrants immediately executory'

MANILA - The Court of Appeals (CA) has ruled that the dismissal of the arrest warrants issued against Senator Panfilo Lacson following the dismissal of his criminal cases in connection with the Dacer-Corbito case is considered immediately executory.

In their 16-page resolution dated March 18, 2011, the CA said, "The petitioner's Urgent Motion for Clarification dated February 7, 2011 is granted. The nullification of the arrest warrants is hereby declared immediately executory. All the respondents, their agents any peace officer or law enforcer, or anybody acting on their behalf, are permanently enjoined from enforcing and implementing the arrest warrants issued in Criminal Cases Nos. 10272905 & 10272906."

Since the arrest warrants and the cases against Lacson have been dismissed, the appellate court said Lacson should now be allowed to perform his job at the Senate without fear of being arrested by any law enforcement agency.

"The threats to arrest petitioner would not only be a violation of his constitutional right to liberty, but would also be a deprivation of the sovereign right of the people particularly the millions of electorates who voted for him to office the right of representation in the Senate," the CA said.

Meantime, in the same decision, the CA denied Cezar Mancao's motion for leave to intervene in the private respondents' Motion for Reconsideration dated Feb. 11, 2011 and public respondents' Motion for Reconsideration dated Feb. 21, 2011.

The CA denied both for lack of merit.

"Cezar Mancao's II Motion for Leave to Intervene dated Feb. 15, 2011 is denied for lack of merit and his Motion for Reconsideration-In-Intervention dated Feb. 15, 2011 is expunged from the records," the CA said in the ruling penned by Associate Justice Ramon Bato Jr..