THE Justice department has asked Foreign Affairs to cancel the passport of retired policeman Arturo Lascañas, the self-confessed member of the so-called Davao Death Squad who has implicated President Rodrigo Duterte in the killings.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II made the request as part of the government’s efforts to bring Lascañas back to the country and face murder and attempted-murder charges over the killing of broadcaster Juan “Jun” Pala in 2003.
“Mr. Lascañas has three warrants of arrest issued against him,” Aguirre said in a statement. “Since he is abroad and since there is no indication that he will return, we are constrained to request the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel his passport.
Aguirre said Lascañas should return to the country if he wanted to clear his name.
Immigration records showed that Lascañas left the country for Singapore in April. But the Davao City regional trial court branch 10 ordered his arrest last week.
Earlier this week, Aguirre ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to coordinate with the Interpol to hunt down Lascañas.
The Davao city prosecutor’s office approved his indictment on the complaint filed by Tala’s wife Louise, citing his extrajudicial confession of the crime in his testimony during the Senate investigation in February where he admitted his involvement in the killing.
In his testimony before the Senate, Lascañas tagged President Duterte as the mastermind behind the attacks on Pala when he was mayor of Davao City.