Mancao return could be used vs opposition - Escudero

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Francis Escudero on Wednesday expressed fears that the return of former police officer Cezar Mancao II "could potentially be used to discredit the political opposition as a whole." "I hope the motivation of former police officer Cezar Mancao in returning to the country is to ferret out the truth in the muders of Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito," Escudero said as he asked the National Bureau of Investigation and other agencies investigating the case to exercise caution. "We should let the law deal with those responsible for their [Dacer and Corbito] deaths. Mancao should not allow himself to be used a pawn in the demolition of key personalities in the opposition," he said. Among the personalities linked to the November 2000 killing of Dacer and Corbito are former President Joseph Estrada and Senator Panfilo Lacson. Both Estrada and Lacson have denied involvement in the twin killings. An earlier report by GMA News' Jay Taruc said Mancao - escorted by two US marshals - was to board a Manila-bound flight. Mancao is expected to arrive in the Philippines early Thursday morning. Mancao is believed to provide vital information in the Dacer-Corbito killings. He was part of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by then National Police chief Lacson. Mancao fled to the United States at the height of the investigation on the crime in July 2001. - Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV