AFTER Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s dramatic and controversial escape from the rule of law (only to resurface as if nothing happened), another high profile personality is now on the loose.
This time, it’s Cezar Mancao — another important character in the unsolved mysterious double murder case of media consultant and publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000.
According to reports, Dacer was then running a media campaign that would allegedly discredit the name of Pres. Estrada through the corruption scandal of the BW Resources at the Philippine Stock Exchange.
On November 24, 2000, Dacer and his driver Corbito were executed and burned in Indang, Cavite.
Mancao, along with Glenn Dumlao and Michael Ray Aquino, were named as supects. Back then, the three police officers were under the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), headed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson as police chief.
As recounted by Wikipedia: Two farmers, Alex Diloy and Jimmy Lopez, came out as eyewitnesses to the Dacer-Corbito murder case, revealing that Dacer and his driver were strangled by policemen using electric cords, before their corpses were burnt. But due to conflicting accounts, they were instead arrested and tagged as suspects.
On April 2001, Police Supt. Teofilo Viña, former aide of Senator Panfilo Lacson (who was previously accused of being the brains behind the Dacer double murder case) turned over 7 suspects (former PAOCTF civilian agents) to Philippine National Police Director General Leandro Mendoza.
They reportedly implicated Chief Inspector Glenn Dumlao of PAOCTF as the leader of the abduction.
When he was arrested, Dumlao submitted an affidavit in June 2001, narrating how he was given an order by then PAOCTF chief Panfilo Lacson (through his officers, Michael Ray Aquino and Cezar Mancao) to place Dacer under surveillance in January 1999.
The said affidavit executed by Dumao reportedly stated that Dumlao was ordered to book a room at the Manila Hotel so he could break into Dacer’s office and steal or destroy whatever documents he could find.
According to the statements, Dumlao’s superiors were after documents pertaining to BW Resources, which was under investigation for insider trading and stock manipulation at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
Dacer reportedly got hold of the documents and was said to be on his way to turn them over to former President Fidel V. Ramos.
Dacer and Corbito were brought to Barangay Buna Lejos in Indang, Cavite where they were executed and burned afterwards.
In July 2001, Mancao, Dumlao, and Aquino left the Philippines for Hongkong and the US for their safety.
In 2010, Mancao reportedly went back to the Philippines to become a state witness, implicating Pres. Estrada to the crime and naming Senator Lacson as the mastermind.
Hours after he escaped from the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation on early Thursday morning, Mancao explained the reason for his escape in several TV interviews.
He feared for his life if he is transferred to the Manila City Jail as ordered by the Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 18. The transfer to the Manila City Jail was scheduled on Thursday morning as well.
Mancao also said that it’s unfair that co-accused Michael Ray B. Aquino was not detained like him.
“They cannot guarantee my safety. The court has declined my application to be under the witness protection program, but the court approved theirs (other co-accused),” Mancao said.
But more than his safety, Mancao stressed the principal reason why he decided to escape and become a fugitive of law. He said he wanted justice for himself, and would choose to be a moving target than stay inside (jail), where he can be easily terminated.
Mancao said his family’s efforts to reach out to Sen. Lacson had been inutile. He even told ABS-CBN News that his own mother personally went to the office of Lacson sometime in February, to no avail.
Mancao also denied public comments that he had been used by the Arroyo administration to attack Sen. Lacson in the past.
International Human Rights Lawyer Arnedo Valera (Mancao’s legal counsel in the United States) said in a press statement that he is saddened by the turn of events and wants his client to peacefully turn himself in to authorities.
“He came home to tell the truth and asked for [an] apology from the Filipino people. Unfortunately, he was discredited as a witness, because of influence peddling by those in power who had something to do with the murders. The Aquino government must secure his safety. As an attorney in the US and the Philippines, I strongly urge him to give himself in peacefully,” said Valera, who provides pro-bono legal services for the Mancao family.
Valera said he is going to call Mancao’s US-based wife, Maricar, to discuss the matter. He has also offered to speak with Pres. Aquino, Justice Sec. Leila de Lima and Budget Sec. Butch Abad (who is a personal friend and classmate of his), to ask them to reinstate Mancao as a state witness.
In hindsight, Valera recalled that Lacson had been issued a warrant of arrest but “something happened along the way, he got away with it.”
The Philippine Star reported that on April 26, Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II offered former police superintendent Cezar Mancao a custodial arrangement, which would give Mancao the security he needs from possible threats.
Roxas reportedly said in a television interview: “If he’s in custody, we can place him in a secure (place) either in the the NBI or Camp Crame (the Philippine National Police headquarters). We can give him a custodial arrangement so he would not fear for his life.”
Could there be some truth to Mancao’s allegations that Sen. Panfilo Lacson could be involved in his planned transfer to the Manila City Jail? Who could be behind these alleged threats to Mancao’s life? Could the Dacer-Corbito double murder case ever be solved?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
