Dacer daughter to Lacson: Respect the law

Exactly a year after Sen. Panfilo Lacson went into hiding to evade arrest on charges of murder, the daughter of slain publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer on Wednesday told the fugitive lawmaker to respect the law and defend himself in the proper venue. Carina Dacer went to the Department of Justice to check the status of her family's case against Lacson, the alleged mastermind in her father's killing a decade ago. Carina then criticized Lacson's alleged delaying tactics to evade arrest. "I guess I'm satisfied with the government's efforts. But I am running out of patience because of Senator Lacson's actions. He should be respecting the law," said Carina, who is in the Philippines for a vacation. She and her three sisters are based in the United States. Lacson fled the country in January 5 last year, but he has reportedly been sighted in the Philippines before 2010 ended. Lacson's escape came two days before the Department of Justice charged him with double murder for the killing of Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito in Nov. 24, 2000. A month later, on February 5, 2010, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 issued an arrest warrant against the senator. Lacson, who has since issued statements maintaining his innocence, has asked the Manila court and the Court of Appeals through his lawyer to nullify the arrest warrant and to order the DOJ to conduct a reinvestigation. But the two courts have denied Lacson's pleas. Last year, the National Bureau of Investigation conducted two raids on locations where the fugitive senator is supposedly hiding. But the NBI failed to track him down. On Wednesday, Carina asked the media to refrain from airing live reports of the NBI's raids. "That's the request of our family. If you are aware of any manhunt, don't show it live or report it on the radio," said Carina.—Sophia M. Dedace/JV, GMANews.TV