Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday faulted the government for what he called its sluggish response to the supposed arrest abroad of fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co.

“The government’s action was too delayed,” said Lacson in a press conference, referring to how local authorities moved only after Co had already been transferred by Germany to the Czech Republic and then released.

He questioned why Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida flew to Prague days after Co’s detention was announced instead of immediately working through the Philippine embassy and law enforcement channels to secure custody of the fugitive.

Lacson said the government should have quickly confirmed Co’s status, the basis for his detention, and the timetable for his release, calling it “one shortcoming” that cost the Philippines a crucial opportunity to bring him home.

He said the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime should have engaged Interpol as soon as Co was first apprehended — “ideally even before”—and urged the government to vigorously oppose Co’s reported bid for political asylum in France.