Dacer siblings ask court to cancel Lacson's passport

The daughters of slain publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer on Wednesday asked the Manila court to cancel the passport of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the main suspect in their father’s November 2000 killing. In a motion, lawyer Demetrio Custodio urged the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 to order the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cancel Lacson’s passport. Custodio is representing Emily Dacer-Hungerson, Sabina Dacer-Reyes, Carina Lim-Dacer, and Amparo Dacer-Henson. Lacson fled the country last January 5, a day before he was indicted for the Dacer case. A warrant of arrest has been issued against him, although government agents have yet to pinpoint his exact location. “Based on the foregoing, it is prayed that the Honorable Court direct the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel the passport of the accused and to take such available and appropriate steps within the legal authority in order that accused may be brought back to the Philippines so that he may be dealt with in accordance of the law," the three-page motion read. Custodio said that under Section 8 (b)(1) of Republic Act No. 8239, the cancellation of passport is allowed when its holder is considered a fugitive from justice. He added that the DFA could cancel a passport only upon an order from the court. However, it is not yet known when the Manila court could act on the petition because the judge, Myra Garcia-Fernandez, has just been appointed associate justice to the Court of Appeals. A staunch critic of the Arroyo administration, Lacson has repeatedly denied the allegations and has accused the present government of persecuting him. On Monday, acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said the senator has been spotted in Rome. Killed along with Dacer was his driver, Emmanuel Corbito. Lacson was chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and concurrent head of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) when the killings happened. A former PAOCTF member, Cezar Mancao II, has tagged Lacson in the Dacer-Corbito case. - KBK, GMANews.TV