News update No kid gloves for Lacson under Aquino admin

The Aquino government will not go soft on Sen. Panfilo Lacson, saying the fugitive lawmaker still has to face arrest once he surfaces for his alleged involvement in the nine-year-old Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

Lacson, who fled the country early this year to escape what he considered as political persecution by the Arroyo administration, is a perceived ally of President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III.

“May warrant of arrest, kailangang arestuhin siya (There is a warrant of arrest so he must be arrested)," said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who served as Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Bahala na yung kanyang mga abogado kung ano ang magiging remedy nila (It’s up to his lawyers what his legal remedy will be)," De Lima added.

This page requires a higher version browser De Lima is set to meet with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Nestor Mantaring to discuss intelligence reports that Lacson has returned to the country.

“Magpupulong kami ni Director Mantaring para malaman ‘yung exact status at kung mayroon silang (I’ll discuss with Director Mantaring the exact status of Lacson and if there is) reliable information in that regard," she said.

Mantaring said the NBI is still verifying reports that Lacson is hiding in a province outside Metro Manila.

Lacson, who is currently facing double murder charges for the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000, left the country in January after a Manila court issued a warrant for his arrest.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) last reported Lacson to be in Rome and may have spent the past months hiding in Europe.

Lacson was a policeman and head of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) when Dacer and Corbito were kidnapped and later killed. He has denied involvement in the crime. - KBK