Presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao yesterday rejected reports of former Police Chief and senator-elect Panfilo Lacson that he received $58,823 (P3 million) in the ransom payment of one of the hostages of the Abu Sayyaf who was released this year.

Tiglao said he would not have a chance to arrange for ransom payment and much more get a percentage for his alleged efforts.

"Why has Mr. Lacson become so angry, so hysterical to the point of shrieking street-language curses against me and hurling baseless charges," said Tiglao, adding, "Did the disclosure of his secret meeting in Malaysia (with Malaysian negotiators) abort a secret deal?"

"It is not fair for a senator to smear the reputation of a private citizen who does not have the resources to fight back," said Tiglao in reference to Lacson's allegation that Jorge Baviera was the one who arranged for the ransom payment for a Chinese Dorothy Yap.

She was one of the 20 tourists abducted by the hostage takers in palawan southwestern Philippines on May 27 this year.

Tiglao and Lacson have been exchanging words during the past few days in connection with the alleged knowledge of the presidential palace regarding ransom payment for the release of the Abu Sayyaf hostages.

"Mr. Lacson is not an authorised negotiator, he should not have involved himself and it was both the military's wish that such attempts be nipped in the bud," said Tiglao.

"Why he was there, why he was talking to the Malaysians, what kind of deal he had and why he doesn't explain it that just because he is Mr. Lacson, he could convince the Abu Sayyaf to release the Burnhams."

"Why did Senator Lacson meet with somebody named Sairin Kamo or a more shadowy figure like Yusuf Hamdan?' Tigalo asked.

He said last week that Lacson had left to allegedly work out the release, through ransom payments, of the remaining hostages of the Abu Sayyaf, in coordination with Kamo and businessman Li Peng Hui.

He noted that Li had been tagged by military intelligence as among those involved in negotiating the ransom payment for the release of the mostly foreign nationals abducted from Sipadan.

At the time, Tiglao claimed somebody who called himself Sairin Kamo rang him several months ago, offering his services to be a negotiator for the release of the DOS Palmas hostages.