2 ex-PNP officers in Dacer murder case arrested in US
11/21/2008 | 12:36 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Two former Philippine National Police officers linked to the killing of PR man Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000 were arrested in the United States Thursday night, a justice department official said Friday.
Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said former superintendent Cezar Mancao II is now detained in Florida while former senior superintendent Glenn Dumlao is detained in New York.
"Ang DOJ gumawa ng extradition request sa US DOJ, inaprubahan ng US DOJ. Kagabi picked up ang dalawa by virtue of extradition (Both have outstanding arrest warrants. The Philippine justice department made an extradition request to its US counterpart, which approved the request. The two were picked up Thursday night by virtue of the extradition)," Blancaflor said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Mancao and Dumlao were with the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by Senator Panfilo Lacson, then a police general. Lacson subsequently became PNP chief.
Dacer and Corbito went missing in November 2000.
A Toyota Revo vehicle belonging to Dacer was found abandoned in a ravine in Cavite a few days after his disappearance.
Records of the case showed that in 2001, Mancao and another officer, former Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, fled the country after Dumlao implicated them as organizers in the murders.
For still unexplained reasons, Dumlao subsequently disappeared and later surfaced in the United States.
In March 2005, Aquino was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for espionage. He is now serving time in a US prison for the offense.
Blancaflor said he is still not sure when Mancao and Dumlao will be brought to the Philippines since they can still avail of their legal rights.
"Maaring mag-oppose sila, baka meron silang pending warrant. 'Pag walang kaso sila doon ide-deport sila sa Pilipinas (They have the right to oppose, or they may have pending warrants for offenses in the US. If those are cleared, they will be deported to the Philippines),"
he said.
Upon their arrival, he said the two will be turned over to Philippine authorities.
Background of the case
The motive behind Dacer’s killing remains unclear but former President Fidel Ramos was reported then by media blaming his successor, former President Joseph Estrada, who was said to have suspected that Dacer was helping Ramos destabilize his administration.
Lacson was also suspected of having a hand in Dacer’s murder, being the direct head of the three officers.
Dacer’s daughter Amparo had told investigators that Lacson had a personal reason to eliminate her father, who had worked for then PNP chief Roberto Lastimoso, a known rival of Lacson.
In his blogspot, Rodel E. Rodis, a Filipino lawyer in San Francisco, California, wrote that before the sentencing of Aquino on July 18, 2007, to six years and four months in prison by US Judge William Walls in New Jersey for espionage, US Attorney Christopher J. Christie submitted a 92-page memorandum asking for a higher sentence for Aquino because of “Aquino’s involvement in the abduction and murders of Dacer and Corbito."
Rodis said the memorandum noted that Dumlao was contacted by Christie during the government’s investigation of Aquino and in an interview in 2006 in New Jersey with his lawyer Felix Vinluan present, "Dumlao affirmed that Aquino participated in the abduction of Dacer-Corbito by directing him and others to kidnap and interrogate Dacer and Corbito, and destroy evidence of the crime."
Rodis also quoted the memorandum as saying, "Mancao voluntarily submitted to several interviews with the (US) government (in the presence of his attorney, Michael Schutt). During those interviews, Mancao told the government, among other things, that he believed that Aquino was involved in the abductions of Dacer and Corbito because Aquino told him that he had ordered others to hide evidence of the crimes."
“Mancao affirmed that he and Aquino ‘heard’ from Lacson that they would be arrested ‘in an effort to destroy Lacson’s reputation and negatively affect Lacson’s possible chances of a presidential bid in 2004’…Lacson later directed Aquino and Mancao to leave the country."
Estrada and Lacson have both vehemently denied the charges. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV
Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said former superintendent Cezar Mancao II is now detained in Florida while former senior superintendent Glenn Dumlao is detained in New York.
"Ang DOJ gumawa ng extradition request sa US DOJ, inaprubahan ng US DOJ. Kagabi picked up ang dalawa by virtue of extradition (Both have outstanding arrest warrants. The Philippine justice department made an extradition request to its US counterpart, which approved the request. The two were picked up Thursday night by virtue of the extradition)," Blancaflor said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Mancao and Dumlao were with the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by Senator Panfilo Lacson, then a police general. Lacson subsequently became PNP chief.
Dacer and Corbito went missing in November 2000.
A Toyota Revo vehicle belonging to Dacer was found abandoned in a ravine in Cavite a few days after his disappearance.
Records of the case showed that in 2001, Mancao and another officer, former Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, fled the country after Dumlao implicated them as organizers in the murders.
For still unexplained reasons, Dumlao subsequently disappeared and later surfaced in the United States.
In March 2005, Aquino was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for espionage. He is now serving time in a US prison for the offense.
Blancaflor said he is still not sure when Mancao and Dumlao will be brought to the Philippines since they can still avail of their legal rights.
"Maaring mag-oppose sila, baka meron silang pending warrant. 'Pag walang kaso sila doon ide-deport sila sa Pilipinas (They have the right to oppose, or they may have pending warrants for offenses in the US. If those are cleared, they will be deported to the Philippines),"
he said.
Upon their arrival, he said the two will be turned over to Philippine authorities.
Background of the case
The motive behind Dacer’s killing remains unclear but former President Fidel Ramos was reported then by media blaming his successor, former President Joseph Estrada, who was said to have suspected that Dacer was helping Ramos destabilize his administration.
Lacson was also suspected of having a hand in Dacer’s murder, being the direct head of the three officers.
Dacer’s daughter Amparo had told investigators that Lacson had a personal reason to eliminate her father, who had worked for then PNP chief Roberto Lastimoso, a known rival of Lacson.
In his blogspot, Rodel E. Rodis, a Filipino lawyer in San Francisco, California, wrote that before the sentencing of Aquino on July 18, 2007, to six years and four months in prison by US Judge William Walls in New Jersey for espionage, US Attorney Christopher J. Christie submitted a 92-page memorandum asking for a higher sentence for Aquino because of “Aquino’s involvement in the abduction and murders of Dacer and Corbito."
Rodis said the memorandum noted that Dumlao was contacted by Christie during the government’s investigation of Aquino and in an interview in 2006 in New Jersey with his lawyer Felix Vinluan present, "Dumlao affirmed that Aquino participated in the abduction of Dacer-Corbito by directing him and others to kidnap and interrogate Dacer and Corbito, and destroy evidence of the crime."
Rodis also quoted the memorandum as saying, "Mancao voluntarily submitted to several interviews with the (US) government (in the presence of his attorney, Michael Schutt). During those interviews, Mancao told the government, among other things, that he believed that Aquino was involved in the abductions of Dacer and Corbito because Aquino told him that he had ordered others to hide evidence of the crimes."
“Mancao affirmed that he and Aquino ‘heard’ from Lacson that they would be arrested ‘in an effort to destroy Lacson’s reputation and negatively affect Lacson’s possible chances of a presidential bid in 2004’…Lacson later directed Aquino and Mancao to leave the country."
Estrada and Lacson have both vehemently denied the charges. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV
