The Philippine Online Chronicles

An arrest warrant was issued against Senator Panfilo Lacson for his alleged involvement in the double murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000.

The arrest order was issued on Friday in the sala of Judge Myra Garcia Fernandez, Branch 18 of the Manila Regional Trial Court.

Lacson, who has been "missing" since January 5, was charged with two counts of murder for allegedly masterminding the killing of the PR man and his driver.

The National Bureau of Investigation suspect that the senator might be somewhere in Hong Kong or Australia, eluding arrest.

Copies of the warrant of arrest were distributed to the DOJ and lawyers representing Sen. Lacson.

'Gov't all out to get Lacson'

Malacañang has earlier said that it will be ready to employ “all resources and tap international law enforcement agencies to apprehend” Lacson, who admitted to fleeing the country to evade the authorities.

Even as a senator, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that Lacson does not enjoy parliamentary immunity because of the gravity of the charges against him.

“The long arm of the law can be made to reach out to him through what we call the Interpol connections of the Philippine government. And then we have this legal assistance agreement with some countries,” he said.

Should he surrender to the judicial process, Ermita promised the senator a "fair trial."

Lawyer Romulo Macalintal, for his part, called Lacson a “bad example” to his colleagues at the Senate and to the ranks of the Philippine National Police, being a former police chief.

“Lacson's flight shows disrespect to our laws and the Senate, of which he is a member,” said Macalintal.

'Evil' conspiracy

Lacson said on Tuesday that he left the country not because he was guilty but because he did not want to “risk his life and security at the mercy of that 'evil' conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary Agnes Devanadera denied Lacson's allegations that the indictment is but a harassment on the opposition senator for being a staunch critic of the president, particularly of First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo.

“Whom in DOJ can harass him? How can we harass him, he's a senator,” she quipped.

Devanadera said that the government may use “extraordinary measures” in order to capture the now fugitive senator.

For one, the government could cancel Lacson's passport so that he would be deported back to the country as an “undocumented alien.”

She added that the Philippines government could invoke an extradition treaty it has with Australia, where the senator is believed to be hiding.

“[We also have] a mutual assistance treaty with Hong Kong, the PNP and the NBI will work together on this,” said Devanadera.

For Lacson, the Justice chief had one message,“You have been elected a senator, a very high position in our government. We hope this matter will not find you somewhere else. Let us not resort in ugly ways such as extradition. I believe you are honorable enough to face the charges in court and defend yourself."

“Shame on you”

On November 24, 2000, Dacer and Corbito were abducted and killed in Indang, Cavite by suspected members of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), led by then PNP chief Lacson.

Former PAOCTF officials, Senior Supt. Cezar Mancao II and Supt. Glenn Dumlao have implicated Lacson as mastermind in the twin killings.

Mancao called on his former superior to surrender to the authorities and face the murder charges against him.

“As a fellow police officer, I am appealing to my former superior officer, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson, to submit to the judicial process in proving his innocence, instead of fleeing the jurisdiction of the Philippine courts,” he said in a statement.

While, former anti-narcotics agent Mary “Rosebud” Ong called Lacson a “coward.”

“How pathetic – once a policeman, a PNP chief, a senator who even gunned for the presidency [only] to end as a fugitive. Shame on you,”Ong said of Lacson.

Ong once accused the embattled Senator of drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and summary executions at the height of his PNP career.

Photos from wikipilipinas.org

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