Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson admitted fleeing the country for safety reasons in light of the double murder charges filed against for the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito nine yeaers ago. “As I had correctly suspected, the harassment by the DOJ upon the order of Malaca?ang will never stop. That's exactly the reason why I left the country... For now, my concern is my own personal safety and security... I am not guilty but I cannot risk putting my life and security at the mercy of that evil conspiracy,” Lacson said in a statement issued Tuesday. Lacson, a staunch critic of the Arroyo administration, has been charged for double murder for the killings of the veteran publicist and his driver on Nov. 24, 2000. He did not disclose his location, but Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan earlier in the day said the senator flew to Hong Kong last January 5, 2010. Lacson, who has repeatedly denied involvement in the Dacer-Corbito case, said he was a “victim of the conspiracy” between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and “her stooge” in the Department of Justice. The senator likewise said he would not give the Arroyo administration “the pleasure of seeing my life miserable and in danger.” He added that the political vendetta against him stemmed from his exposés against Arroyo and her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo. “From the Jose Pidal scandal, jueteng payola, Hello Garci election cheating controversy, to the ZTE and fertilizer scam, and many more abuses committed by Mr. and Mrs. Arroyo against the Filipino people, where I played the leading role in exposing, are mostly the reasons why I am being harassed no end,” Lacson said. The Jose Pidal scandal referred to the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Mike Arroyo hidden under the account of “Jose Pidal, while the ZTE controversy referred to the $329-million allegedly overpriced broadband deal the government entered into with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. where the First Gentleman allegedly received commissions in the deal. The fertilizer scam, meanwhile, was the P728-million fund allotted for poor farmers but were purportedly diverted by former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante to the campaign kitty of Arroyo in the 2004 presidential elections. In Malaca?ang, deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar shrugged off Lacson's accusations, saying Lacson's conspiracy claims are “unsubstantiated allegations.” - “There is no substantiation on his charges of conspiracy. If there were indeed instances of harassment, then he should bring these charges to the proper forum,” he said
