MANILA » A Philippine senator who fled double murder charges more than a year ago has faced the public for the first time since his return, saying he was forced to flee from injustice.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson arrived in the Philippines on Saturday from Hong Kong after a court voided the arrest warrant against him.

He was charged with the killings of high-profile publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver in 2000.

Lacson told a news conference Monday that he became a fugitive after the government of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, his political enemy, allowed prosecutors to set aside rules of evidence to jail him for a crime he did not commit.

He said he spent 13 months moving around abroad but refused to say where.