Lacson to De Lima: Why is Mancao still under govt protection?

Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima why former police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II is still under the government's Witness Protection Program (WPP) and is even allegedly enjoying certain special privileges. "You’re asking for P174 million for the WPP and part of this amount is being spent to accommodate witnesses that are no longer considered witnesses. There might be technical malversation," Lacson said during the Senate finance committee hearing on the proposed budget of the Justice Department for 2012. It was Mancao, a former subordinate of Lacson in the police force, who linked the senator to the November 2000 killings of public relations man Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito. The Court of Appeals, however, junked the case against Lacson. On Tuesday, Lacson said Mancao should no longer be covered by the WPP because the court no longer has need for Mancao's testimony in connection with the Dacer-Coribto case. "Nadeclare na siyang incredible and untrustworthy [witness] but he is still enjoying benefits under WPP, including allowances, security detail," he said. De Lima, however, said that they are still awaiting the final decision of the Supreme Court on the petition filed by the Dacer family. "There is a motion for reconsideration. let’s wait for the finality," she said. Roaming around? At the same time, Lacson also asked why Mancao is being allowed to "roam around" despite being an alleged state witness. "Why is he allowed to go as far as General Santos, Davao, practically everywhere? Compostela, Monkayo, Davao City. I don’t want to take this matter up but inevitably I’m going to take this up with you Madame Secretary," he said. "He should not be freely roaming around, he should be kept in a safehouse or in a facility of the NBI or somewhere else and he should not be allowed to go to Visayas and Mindanao," he added. But De Lima said that this arrangement was approved by the administration and that it was something she only found out recently. "I think some correctional measures should be insitututed under your watch. If it is a clear violation of [the] WPP, I think government now should act accordingly," said Lacson. De Lima said that they will consider restricting Mancao's movements. Dacer-Corbito murder case Lacson used to head the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force's (PAOCTF), the unit that allegedly carried out the killing of Dacer and Corbito. Mancao, who headed the PAOCTF Task Group Luzon, had earlier claimed that he had heard Lacson and former police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino talking about the purported plan to "neutralize or liquidate" Dacer. Mancao was the DOJ's key witness in its double murder charges against Lacson, which was then handled by the Manila Regional Trial Court. The Court of Appeals, however, ordered the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 to drop the murder case after finding that Mancao was not a credible witness. The CA's decision was upheld by the Supreme Court on the basis that the DOJ, through the Office of the Solicitor General, forfeited its right to appeal the CA ruling. — RSJ, GMA News