Manila: Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, who was reported missing before he was charged early this year for alleged involvement in the 2000 murder of a publicist, was seen in Rome, a senior official said.
"The latest information is that Sen Lacson passed by Rome. He had left Hong Kong, where he stayed for quite sometime. His exact destination now is not yet known," acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said in a radio interview.
A team of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that was tasked to look for Lacson confirmed the report, said Agra, adding that the Interpol has been coordinating with the NBI team in locating Lacson.
Records of the Bureau of Immigration showed that Lacson left the Philippines on January 7 aboard a Cathay Pacific flight for Hong Kong.
His name was on the watchlist of the Bureau of Immigration only on January 8. That was the day government prosecutors formally charged Lacson with the murders of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and the latter's driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000. A warrant for Lacson's arrest Lacson was issued on February 5.
