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Lacson's lawyers to contest arrest warrant on Monday


Senator Panfilo Lacson’s lawyers will ask a Manila court on Monday to revoke its arrest warrant on the opposition lawmaker, who faces charges for the murder of veteran publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000. Lawyer Alex Avisado told dzBB radio on Sunday they would ask the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 to reconsider its finding of probable cause to indict Lacson for double murder. “Senator Lacson’s lawyers and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are still at odds over the issuance of the arrest warrant. We will file a motion for reconsideration tomorrow. The court’s determination of probable cause is not yet final," Avisado said in Filipino. Last Friday, Manila RTC Branch 18 Presiding Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez issued the arrest warrant on Lacson, who had admitted fleeing the country last January to avoid alleged harassment by the Arroyo administration. While the senator’s whereabouts remained unknown, the National Bureau of Investigation belied reports that Lacson was hiding in Australia. Government investigators and police have tried serving the arrest warrant at Lacson’s office at the Senate in Pasay City, and at his homes in the cities of Parañaque and Muntinlupa and in Imus, Cavite. It was reported that a certain Jane Lacson, who identified herself as the senator's niece, had received the arrest warrant. A staff member of the Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms received a copy of the arrest warrant, while a female janitor received a copy of the same at the office of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. No one answered the door at Lacson's office. Following the arrest warrant, the NBI and Philippine National Police were set to tap the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a “red notice" to expedite Lacson’s arrest. The notice is not considered an "international arrest warrant," but will only allow arrest warrants issued in local courts to be circulated in 188 member-countries of the Interpol. The Philippine government will have to seek the removal of the red notice off Lacson’s name in case the court grants his motion for reconsideration. In Sunday’s interview, Avisado said his client should not be considered a fugitive because he had “not totally abandoned his defenses in court" and that his lawyers were still representing him in the double murder case. Avisado also said the arrest warrant was part of the Arroyo administration’s scheme to persecute his client, who had strongly criticized the government since he became a senator in 2001. “This is just propaganda against Senator Lacson. It is clear that this is just part of the script being followed by Senator Lacson’s political opponents," he said. — Sophia Regina Dedace/NPA, GMANews.TV

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