Filtered By: Topstories
News

Mancao eyed to testify on Kuratong Baleleng case, too


MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Thursday said they are studying the possibility of asking former police officer Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II to testify in other controversial cases including the alleged "rubout" of Kuratong Baleleng gang members in 1995. In a radio interview, Gonzalez said Mancao, who arrived from the US early Thursday morning, should not only be limited to testifying in the Dacer-Corbito double slay case but also maximized to share his knowledge, if any, on other high-profile crimes. It took Mancao almost eight years to finally return to the Philippines since he flew for the US at the height of the investigation on the double-killing case. Asked if the Kuratong Baleleng case was among the high-profile cases in which Mancao could also testify, Gonzalez said: “We’re looking at that direction." Charges were filed against then Chief Superintendent Panfilo Lacson as head of Task Force Habagat, and a number of ranking PNP officials but were later dismissed by a Quezon City court. The case is currently pending before the Supreme Court, which acted on the motion of the victims’ families and human rights lawyers seeking to revive the murder case. “To put a closure to all these things, lahat na dapat ng kaso na pwedeng mag-testify ang mga ito ay buksan na rin [Dacer-Corbito witnesses should be made to testify in all cases where they can testify]," Gonzalez said. The DOJ chief said he was prompted to consider the idea “in accordance to the suggestion of an editorial from the Philippine Daily Inquirer." The newspaper editorial said that since Mancao had been claiming to possess incriminating knowledge about alleged crimes of high officials like Lacson, the former could perhaps also testify in other crimes. But Gonzalez admitted that re-opening the Kuratong Baleleng case and convincing Mancao and other key “witnesses" in the Dacer-Corbito case could prove to be difficult. Apart from Mancao, his subordinate, former Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, another suspect in the Dacer-Corbito case who fled to the US and is expected to return to the country soon, had already expressed willingness to testify in the case. His return however is still being hindered by a petition to have him testify in the case of a third suspect, former police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, in the US. Gonzalez however said it won’t be long before Dumlao gets to return to the Philippines because he could submit a deposition in place of his personal appearance in the US court hearing Aquino’s extradition case. After the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000, Mancao, Dumlao and Aquino flew for the US. The Philippine government later sought their extradition. The three belonged to the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, which was headed by Lacson during the time of the Dacer-Corbito killings. - GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT