PNoy: No VIP treatment for Michael Ray Aquino

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III assured the public on Monday that former police Sr. Supt Michael Ray Aquino, the lead suspect in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, will not receive any special treatment from his administration. At a press briefing in Cebu, Aquino also clarified that the former police officer is not his relative even though they have the same surname. “Palagay ko walang special treatment maliban doon sa sinundo siya for the extradition, dinala sa National Bureau of Investigation na kulungan. For the record, hindi ko po kamag-anak si Michael Ray, just in case may magtatanong po," he said. The President was in Cebu after the inauguration of 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant of the Korean Electric Power Corporation. No special treatment The President expressed confidence that records as a lawmaker in the past will show that he did not give Michael Ray any special treatment ever. “The only special treatment they got from me was when I was the chairman of the Human Rights Committee in the 11th Congress," he said. “Ang special treatment po na madalas ko po silang ma-kliyente sa Committee on Human Rights sa Kongreso dahil sa PAOCTF (Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force) po," he added. Michael Ray Michael Ray arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 (NAIA-2) early Sunday morning and was brought to NBI headquarters in Manila, where he currently shares a cell with at least 21 other detainees. Earlier this morning, his counsel Simonette Sibal Pulido filed a 12-page motion before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 to allow Aquino to remain in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation instead of being transferred to the Manila City Jail as earlier recommended by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Michael Ray is considered a protégé of Senator Panfilo Lacson, who was a suspect in the case until recently when the Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of the criminal charges and the revocation of the arrest warrants issued against him. Lacson used to head the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force's (PAOCTF), the unit that allegedly carried out the killing of veteran publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000. During his stint in the police force, Michael Ray served under the PAOCTF as head of the unit's operations division. At the time, Lacson was Philippine National Police chief and concurrent PAOCTF head. Some of Lacson's subordinates were Michael ray and former police officers Cezar Mancao II and Glenn Dumlao. Mancao led the unit's Task Group Luzon with Dumlao as his deputy. Aquino and Mancao left the Philippines on June 24, 2001 – supposedly on instructions from Lacson, who was just elected as senator in May that year. Also, Dumlao went to the US in May 2003. In an affidavit executed two years ago, Mancao said Lacson wanted them to leave the country because the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo "would surely go after us and link us [to] the Dacer-Corbito double murder case." The Department of Justice filed murder charges against Dumlao in May 2001 and against Mancao and Aquino in September that year. However, it was only in 2008 when the DOJ – then under the leadership of Raul Gonzalez – started extradition proceedings for Mancao, Dumlao, and Aquino. Mancao and Dumlao were extradited in 2009, while Aquino decided to seek court action to fight his extradition. Aquino's bid was unsuccessful, and his defeat at the US Court of Appeals in April this year paved the way for his extradition to the Philippines. While in detention in New Jersey, Aquino executed an affidavit dated August 9, 2010, clearing Lacson of involvement in the Dacer-Corbito killings. - VVPM GMA News