Lascañas fails to come back, remains on the run

Photo: Senator Ping Lacson/Facebook.com

Self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) and retired policeman SPO3, Arthur Lascañas, fails to come back to the country as planned during the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) inquiry into his alleged crimes.

It has been reported that Lascañas had left for Singapore on April 8 with his family, and was scheduled to return on April 22. However, according to the Bureau of Immigration, there was no record of Lascañas arriving in the country over the weekend.

Lascañas had insisted that he is by no means running away from allegations against him and that he is ready to testify in court if required. However, he also cited that he was still receiving threats and feared for his safety. He said he will be subject to criminal investigation if he were summoned by authorities.

Lascañas had left the country on legal terms. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said that he has full or every right to leave the country since there was no hold departure order issued against him. Neither was there a formal case against him prior to his departure, although the Senate had been considering to file perjury charges against him for recanting all his statements in a Senate probe.

Aguirre believed that Lascañas is maybe afraid of facing prosecution as fellow self-confessed DDS member Edgar Matobato had been recently charged with kidnapping based on his confessions. He also suspected that Lascañas’ “handlers” are very careful of handling him in an attempt to not lose another witness that could attack the President.

Aguirre had already ordered the NBI to look into Lascañas’ confessions in order to verify its accuracy and to also determine if there are any probable cause to make him criminally liable.
The Justice Secretary also warned Lascañas’ handlers that they will also be pursued by the government if they don’t bring Lascañas back in the country.