Former senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson (left), Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa (Facebook)

TRECE MARTIRES, Cavite--Former senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson can be one slippery individual if he chooses to--which means he can give valuable tips to the embattled reelectionist Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa, who is facing a charge of crime against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC), has said that he would go into hiding if and when the United Nations (UN)-backed court issues a warrant for his arrest.

But does Dela Rosa really want to go that route? Lacson gave valuable pieces of advice to his fellow ex-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.

"Huwag siya magtago. Biro lang (He shouldn't go into hiding. I'm just kidding)," Lacson said in a chance interview here Friday, March 21. 

"Seryoso, choice niya yan. Pero to seek refuge sa Senado mukhang debatable kasi. Sabi ko limitado ang legislative immunity ng members ng Congress (Seriously, that's there choice. But seeking refuge in the Senate is somewhat debatable. Like I said, members of Congress have limited legislative immunity.)

Lacson, who is in town for the campaign rally of the administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate, is known for going into hiding after he was implicated in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case. 

He has since cleared his name from it.

"Call niya (Dela Rosa) yan. Ako call ko yan kasi ang pagtatago, trabaho ng law enforcement maghanap. Di nila ako nakita, problema nila yan. Pero ako, hindi ako lumabas sa criminal justice system natin because napagalaman ko noong araw advantage ko, alam kong may jurisprudence kung saan I can still file pleadings maski wala ako sa legal custody ng korte," the Alyansa bet explained. 

(It's Dela Rosa's call. I made my call back then and it was the law enforcers' job to look for me. They couldn't find me, that's their problem. As for me, I never left our criminal justice system because I learned an advantage back in the day, I knew about a jurisprudence wherein I can still file pleadings even if I'm not in the court's legal custody.)

"Unlike before kailangan magpa-kustodiya ka sa korte, maging physically available ka kung may warrant of arrest. So yan ang aking invoke dahil ito naman may basehan sa batas. Kaya di ako lumabas sa criminal justice system," Lacson further said.

(Unlike before, you had to be under custody of the country, you'll be physically available if there's a warrant of arrest. So that's what I invoked because it had lawful basis. That's why I didn't leave the criminal justice system.)