‘Organized group behind Dacer slay’

Former President Fidel Ramos said yesterday he is convinced a "well-organized organization and syndicate" was behind the kidnap-murder of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito last November.

Ramos made the assessment as he turned over documents to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which are investigating the gruesome double murder.

While Ramos refused to divulge who he thought was behind the double murder, he noted several unanswered questions in the case.

Ramos, a former chief of the defunct Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police, asked why the Estrada administration and its law enforcement agencies were "so lukewarm on the case."

This was never satisfactorily and sufficiently clarified, considering Estrada’s closeness with Dacer. I think lukewarmness is not the natural reaction of a very close friend," he said.

Ramos also asked why it took Estrada three days to disclose that he met with Dacer, whom Estrada admitted was a close friend, shortly before he was abducted on Nov. 24 last year.

Estrada and Dacer allegedly shouted at each other in a meeting at Malacañang where the ousted president accused the publicist of engineering moves that were thought to destabilize the Estrada administration.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson had earlier claimed that Dacer, shortly before his disappearance, was in possession of certain documents that would implicate Estrada in the stock market scandal involving gaming firm Best World (BW) Resources Corp.

BW was then mostly owned by known Estrada crony Dante Tan, who has been reported missing since the NBI arrested two suspects in the double murder case.

However, Tan’s lawyer Agnes Maranan said she was not aware of Tan’s whereabouts but claimed it is likely that he was only out of town.

Militant groups have expressed suspicion Tan may have gone into hiding to avoid prosecution for his involvement in a stock market price manipulation charge and Dacer’s brutal murder.

Ramos likewise described as "mysterious" the US trip of former police chief Panfilo Lacson around the time Dacer was abducted and at the height of Estrada’s impeachment trial.

During the Estrada administration, Lacson was the concurrent chief of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF). He is now retired from the police force and is running for the Senate under the banner of a pro-Estrada coalition.

Ramos said the Estrada administration also kept Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora in the dark about the police chief’s departure.

Government officials and employees are required to ask for permission and clearance from the Office of the Executive Secretary before going on a trip abroad.

"This must also be satisfactorily explained by the persons concerned," Ramos said.

The former president said the Estrada administration took two weeks, or until Dec. 8, to designate a low-level NBI agent, whom he identified as Vicente de Guzman III, on the high-profile case.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco also revealed the Estrada administration allegedly attempted to cover up the investigation of the Dacer case.

"There was stonewalling in the investigation of the case," Wycoco said.

"The NBI National Capital Region (group), under Sammy Ong, were directed to submit their progress report to the PAOCTF every day," Wycoco added.

The NBI on Friday filed charges against 14 suspects, including SPO4 Marino Soberano, SPO3 Jose Escalante and SPO3 Mauro Torres, all detailed with the PAOCTF.

The PAOCTF agents were arrested on information provided by suspects Alexander Diloy and Jimmy Lopez, who admitted participating in the crime and led police to the scene of the crime.

Authorities recovered from the site charred bones and teeth which are believed to belong to Dacer and Corbito.

But Estrada ally and Caloocan Rep. Luis "Baby" Asistio claimed Dacer’s daughters had already cleared Lacson of involvement in their father’s disappearance.

In a statement released by the Ping Lacson for Senator Movement, Asistio was quoted as saying "someone else is the mastermind."

In the same press release, Asistio was quoted as denying that Estrada and Dacer had a "shouting match" in Malacañang shortly before he was abducted. Asistio claimed he was present at the meeting which he had even arranged.

"Nothing like that happened," Asistio was quoted as saying.

Dacer’s daughter Carina, however, in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel denied clearing Lacson and publicly asked Asistio not to make statements on behalf of the Dacer family.

In a statement to The STAR, Carina instead said their family was "disgusted" by reports that they had requested for their father’s death certificate to allow them to claim proceeds from Bubby’s insurance policy in the US.

"My father does not have life insurance in the United States nor in the Philippines. Any existing insurance policies are related to property in the US and nothing more," Carina said.

Carina said Bubby has no properties to divide among his children and that proceeds from any sale of assets or any fund-raising activity will be used to settle obligations.

"It is unfortunate that the DOJ issued a statement about a personal matter discussed during a meeting where a representative of the DOJ was not present," she added. — With reports from Mike Frialde, Jaime Laude, Conrado Diaz, Mayen Jaymalin, Marichu Villanueva