DFA finally cancels passport of fugitive senator Lacson

(Updated 3:02 a.m. Aug. 21) More than six months after a Manila court issued a warrant for his arrest, fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson's regular and diplomatic passports were finally canceled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) following the reiterated request of the Department of Justice (DOJ). In a release posted on its website late Friday evening, the DFA said the decision was in accordance with the order of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18, which requested the department, as well as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to take the necessary steps to bring Lacson back to the Philippines. “The NBI and the Secretary of the DFA are directed to take the proper steps in order that Senator Lacson, who is alleged to be out of the country, may be brought back to the Philippines pursuant to the warrant of arrest issued by this court so that he can be dealt with in accordance with law." Manila RTC Branch 18 stated as quoted by the DFA. Lacson is the principal suspect in the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, on Nov. 24, 2000. He fled the country on January 5, just two days before the previous Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership filed two counts of murder against him before the Manila RTC 18, and even before even the court could have resolved his pending motion for judicial determination of probable cause. Exactly a month later, on February 5, the RTC hearing the Dacer-Corbito double murder case issued an arrest warrant against Lacson. A few days later, on February 9, then Secretary of Justice Agnes Devanadera wrote the DFA seeking the cancellation of Lacson’s passport. “At the time he left the country, Senator Lacson knew about the impending filing of criminal charges against him for the murder of Dacer, a public relations practitioner, and his driver, Corbito. Also, despite it being reported in all the newspapers that a warrant of arrest was issued against him, Senator Lacson refuses to return to the Philippines," the DOJ letter read. “In view thereof, Senator Lacson may already be considered a fugitive from justice, thus, warranting the cancellation of his passport pursuant to the Philippine Passport Act of 1996," it further said. Almost six months later, new Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who replaced Devanadera reiterated the DOJ’s request in another letter on August 5. (See: DOJ moves to cancel Lacson's passport) The Dacer family has also written the DFA through their legal counsel, requesting the cancellation of Senator Lacson’s passport. (See: Dacer siblings ask court to cancel Lacson's passport) The DFA said it notified Lacson on August 12, through his residence address and at his Senate office, as well as through the office of his legal counsel, about the department’s receipt of the court order and the DOJ letter-requests. The DFA conveyed to him and his legal counsel that should Lacson or his lawyers wish to present his views to the DFA, they may communicate with the DFA Office of Consular Affairs. “The Department has not received any communication from Senator Lacson or his counsel on the matter as of date," the DFA stated. Law on passport cancellation Republic Act 8239, or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, provides that a passport may be cancelled on three grounds:

• When the holder is a fugitive from justice;
• When the holder has been convicted of a criminal offense, provided that the passport may be restored after the sentence is served; or
• When a passport was acquired fraudulently or tampered with.

The law likewise states the Foreign Affairs Secretary may cancel a passport in the interest of national security provided that it shall not “mean a loss or doubt on the person's citizenship," and that the cancellation “would not prevent the issuance of a Travel Document to allow for a safe return journey by a Filipino to the Philippines." DFA Department Order No. 11-97, or the implementing rules and regulations of RA 8239 also states a passport may be cancelled for the following reasons:

• Upon conviction by the holder of a criminal offense;
• Upon finding by the Secretary or his authorized representative or consular officer that a passport was secured through fraud or misrepresentation, or that it has been tampered with subsequent to its release or issuance to its holder; or
• Upon lawful order of the court to hold the departure of an applicant because of a pending criminal case.

The cancellation of a passport is normally circulated in all Philippine embassies and consulates around the world, and a person found to be traveling outside the country with a cancelled passport may be held by immigration authorities and deported. In 2001, the passports of police officers Michael Rey Aquino and Cesar Mancao III were likewise cancelled. There were deemed Lacson’s protégés who are accused, among others, of taking part in the abduction and murder of Dacer and Corbito. —JV, GMANews.TV