DFA: PHL consulates did not issue Lacson travel documents

Philippine consulates in Macau, Xiamen, and Hong Kong did not issue the travel document used by Senator Panfilo Lacson to enter the Philippines after hiding for more than a year for being tagged in the Dacer-Corbito murders in 2000. This was revealed to the media on Tuesday by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Eduardo Malaya. Malaya said Lacson’s travel document bearing control number 34258 “was not in the inventory of the Consulate General in Macau." “The department has made inquiries with the Philippine Consulates General in Hong Kong, Xiamen and Macau and they said that the travel document used by the senator did not come from them," Malaya added. Travel document According to the DFA, a travel document allows the bearer a direct, one-way trip to the Philippines. It is only issued in critical instances, usually in life or death situations, the DFA clarified. The DFA said a travel document is not a short cut in complying with the requirements for the renewal of a passport or the replacement of a lost passport. It can only be resorted to when the consular officer determines that its use is warranted. Malaya said as a Filipino, Lacson is entitled to such document and the protection of Philippine embassies and consulates abroad. Arroyo critic Lacson, a staunch critic of the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, made his first public appearance on Monday. He claimed that he went into hiding because the Arroyo government was bent on sending him to jail for a crime he did not commit. Lacson arrived in Cebu via Hong Kong on Saturday after the Court of Appeals voided an arrest warrant against him. Lacson, former Philippine National Police Chief, was charged with double murder of high-profile publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver in 2000. Lacson denied any involvement in the killings but said he knows the mastermind behind it. - VVP, GMA News