MANILA, Philippines - Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson admitted Tuesday that he has left the country to escape harassment from the Department of Justice amid reports that he will be arrested as a suspect in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

In a statement e-mailed to ABS-CBN, Lacson said he is a victim of a "conspiracy of whispers between [President] Arroyo and her stooge in the Department of Justice."

"For now, my concern is my own personal safety and security. I will not allow Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts in the DOJ the pleasure of seeing my life miserable and in danger. This is one case that I will dispute the argument – flight is an indication of guilt. I am not guilty but I cannot risk putting my life and security at the mercy of that evil conspiracy," he said in the statement.

Lacson left for Hong Kong last January 5, just days before the Department of Justice recommended the filing of murder raps against him for the murders of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver on November 24, 2000.

Lacson, a former Philippine National Police chief, has repeatedly denied his involvement in the twin murders.

In his latest statement, the opposition senator said his role in exposing various scandals including the Jose Pidal scam, jueteng payola, "Hello, Garci" wiretapping scandal, ZTE-NBN broadband mess and other alleged abuses of the Arroyo administration is the main reason why the present administration had a political vendetta against him.

He added that he hopes that the judge assigned to the Dacer-Corbito case would not easily succumb to pressure and should stick to the rules by deciding the case based on its merits. The case is currently being handled by Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32.

An ABS-CBN source, meanwhile, said Lacson could be securing an affidavit from his former subordinate, Michael Ray Aquino, that would clear the senator of any involvement in the double murders. Aquino is serving a six-year jail sentence in the US for conspiring with White House aide Leandro Agoncillo in sending classified documents to Lacson and former president Joseph Estrada.

The source added that Lacson may send his lawyer to Aquino since the senator could not go to the US.

Questions about Lacsons whereabouts surfaced as early as last week after the senator failed to attend Senate plenary sessions on the ethics case against Sen. Manny Villar.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said that Lacson wrote him a letter, saying that he cannot attend sessions in the meantime because he is abroad. He said that Lacson's travel authority has already expired, thus making him officially absent from the sessions.

Two of Lacson's colleagues said the senator is currently in Australia.

The Bureau of Immigration, meanwhile, denied that it has placed Lacson in its watchlist since no warrant of arrest has been issued for the senator.