DOJ to Rosebud: Shoot to kill order vs Lacson is illegal

The Department of Justice on Monday thumbed down the possibility of a "shoot to kill" order against fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson, the prime suspect in the Dacer-Corbito killings a decade ago. At a news briefing, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III said such an order, suggested by whistleblower and Lacson critic Mary "Rosebud" Ong, is illegal. "The issuance of a shoot to kill order is illegal. It's not within the law," said Baraan, who serves as the DOJ's officer-in-charge while De Lima is out of the country until Thursday this week. Baraan said while Lacson is considered a fugitive from justice, his rights as an accused still protect him from shoot to kill orders. Baraan said shoot to kill orders are only issued against convicted criminals who escape from detention. "He hasn't been arraigned yet. The charges against him have to be proven in court... He still has his rights as an accused, and one of these rights is that his warrant has to be served against him," said the undersecretary. Lacson fled the country in January 5 this year, just two days after the DOJ filed charges against him for the killings of veteran publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito. De Lima said intelligence information showed Lacson may just be in hiding in the Philippines. The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 has turned down Lacson's request to withdraw the arrest warrant against him and have the DOJ reinvestigate the killings. This prompted Lacson to seek redress from the Court of Appeals, which recently turned down his requests as well. Last week, Lacson made repeated pronouncements that he will not surface unless the DOJ holds a reinvestigation or withdraws its opposition to Lacson's motions pending in the courts. Lacson critic Mary "Rosebud" Ong then said a "shoot to kill" order must be issued against him. "Siya ay sana masali doon sa Philippines' most wanted list at lahat ng poster niya ay mapo-post from Manila to nationwide. And kung sakali siya ay nag-resist arrest sa NBI ay bigyan ng shoot to kill order," she said over the weekend. (I hope he gets included on the Philippines' most wanted list and that his posters get posted in Manila and across the nation. And if ever he resists arrest by the NBI, a shoot to kill order must be issued against him.) Ong once accused Lacson of drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and summary execution. NBI missteps Also on Monday, Baraan said the NBI has to answer for its supposed "missteps" in failing to locate Lacson in separate raids since Friday. "Ang nakikita namin dun is it's not good enough. Dapat dagdagan ng intelligence work (We thought it's not good enough. The NBI needs to improve its intelligence work)," he said. However, he admitted that Lacson may be hard to find because of his connections in the intelligence community. Lacson served as Philippine National Police chief before he resigned in January 2001 and before he was elected senator in May that year. "He is hard to find, given all his connections, his background in the intelligence. He has the means, he has the training for him to go in hiding," said Baraan. – VVP, GMANews.TV