Lacson now on Interpol red notice list - NBI

Senator Panfilo Lacson has been placed on the red notice list of the International Police (Interpol) in connection with the nine-year-old Dacer-Corbito killings, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). “It is confirmed," said Claro de Castro Jr., chief of the NBI Interpol Division. “Lacson may be arrested by foreign counterparts depending on the discretion of the country-member which will find him." By placing Lacson on the list, the Interpol and its member-countries can now assist Philippine authorities in locating his whereabouts. “The inclusion of the person being requested in the red notice will be posted in the Interpol web and the member-countries can start locating him," De Castro said. A check with the Interpol Web site shows that Lacson’s photo has already been posted. It also said that red notices allow the warrant of arrest issued against the person to be circulated worldwide with the request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition. 188 countries De Castro said Interpol has 188 member countries that can now be tapped in hunting Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) prior to being a lawmaker. He said authorities in the member-country have a choice of either arresting Lacson or informing the NBI about his whereabouts. “But it is up to the discretion of member-country of Interpol, which will find him whether to arrest him or not. But what is definite, is that member-country will inform the NBI and other law enforcement agencies here in the Philippines about his whereabouts," he said. The NBI had requested the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) to ask the Interpol in France to put Lacson in the red notice list. De Castro said they filed the formal communication to the PCTC on day the warrant of arrest was issued last Friday. Judge Myra V. Garcia-Fernandez of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18 issued a warrant of arrest on two counts of murder for the Nov. 2000 killings of Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito. De Castro said records revealed that Lacson left for Hong Kong last January 5, although the NBI is checking reports that he has managed to sneak back into the country and is currently in the Bicol region. Motion for reconsideration Lacson’s camp, meanwhile, asked the Manila RTC to recall the warrant of arrest it issued against the senator him and to dismiss the charges filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). In the 16-page motion for reconsideration, Lacson’s lawyer, Alexander Poblador, asked Fernandez to recall her February 4 order finding judicial probable cause against him. He said the evidence relied on by the court in coming out with its order does not show the existence of probable cause. “With all due respect, the foregoing documents do not show the existence of probable cause against accused Lacson. Even by the ‘calculus of common sense,’ which was the standard applied by the Honorable Court, they do not suffice to lead a reasonably discreet and prudent person to believe that accused Lacson committed the crimes charged," he said. He also accused the DOJ of showing bias against his client. The outcome of the proceedings had already been determined from the very beginning. The charges filed and the entire proceedings against the accused were not made in pursuit of justice or to find the truth behind the Dacer-Corbito case, but were made in a desperate attempt to pin down accused Lacson for a crime which he did not commit," Poblador said. Inhibition Poblador also sought the inhibition of Fernandez owing to her being recommended for promotional appointment to the Court of Appeals by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). In a motion seeking for voluntary inhibition, Pobladoor said the nomination could affect how she would rule on the double murder case. “With the favorable recommendation by the JBC just recently revealed, as well as the expectation of a promotion to the CA from the President, it is inevitable and understandable for accused Lacson to entertain serious doubt on the neutrality and impartiality of the Honorable Presiding Judge, particularly in resolving the Motion for Reconsideration filed by him," he said. - with Mark D. Merueñas, KBK, GMANews.TV