MANILA (March 2, 2010) -- More woes await fugitive Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, as a subpoena has been handed down by prosecutors against him and other members of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) for kidnapping and serious illegal detention filed by whistleblower Mary Ong, alias “Rosebud.”

State Prosecutor George Yarte Jr. issued a subpoena against Lacson and members of PAOCTF whose names have yet to be released by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

The preliminary hearing is set for March 11 at 2 p.m.

Lacson is already in the Interpol’s Red Notice since last Feb. 11 in connection with the November 2000 double murder case of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

The senator left the country for Hong Kong last Jan. 5, a month before Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez, of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) issued a warrant of arrest against him.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), however, yesterday said Lacson is no longer in Hong Kong.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring also informed reporters that Lacson’s departure from HongKong has been confirmed.

“He is no longer in Hong Kong and this information is confirmed. We have information that he fled to another country but this is still being verified and we can’t disclose which country it is at this time,” he said but added that the NBI still has to verify reports that Lacson is in Europe.

Lacson is on the Interpol Red List, and there is an Interpol office in The Netherlands, which could facilitate efforts of the NBI to validate such reports and coordinate with the Netherlands Interpol for information in the event Lacson goes to this country.

“I tapped the Offices of Intelligence Services, Investigative Services and Regional Operations Services to help track down the senator. The tracing of the senator is not only limited outside the country but as well here in the Philippines. I also tapped the NBI Interpol to coordinate with our counterparts,” he noted.

Last Thursday, the Justice Department started its preliminary investigation into the criminal charges for kidnapping and serious illegal detention filed against Lacson and other members of PAOCTF.

Aside from the Dacer-Corbito double case filed at the Manila RTC, Lacson is also facing kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges filed by Mary Ong, alias “Rosebud,” through the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG)-National Capital Region at the DoJ.

In their sworn-affidavit, Ong and Remis Garganera of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp), and six other witnesses said that some members of the now defunct PAOCTF were responsible in the abduction of two Chinese nationals, namely Chong Hiu Ming and Wong Kam Chong, on Dec. 30, 1998 and March 26, 1999, respectively.

At that time, Lacson was the chief of the PAOCTF.

During Thursday’s preliminary investigation, the complainants submitted documents that would form part of the prosecution’s pieces evidence. The pieces of evidence, according to the complainants, would strengthen their case to prove that the PAOCTF elements abducted and detained the foreigners. The PAOCTF suspected that the foreigners were members of a drug syndicate.

After the complaint against Lacson and other members of the PAOCTF was sworn into by Ong and other witnesses before the DoJ Prosecutors, Yarte issued subpoena for their appearance.