Jesuits gave ‘Ador’ refuge, priest says

Jesuits provided refuge to former civilian agent Angelo Mawanay before he was taken under the wings of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), according to a priest who had taken care of the man.

"Only my superiors knew about it from the start but it’s only now that I’m telling the public about my personal involvement in the case," said Fr. Carmelo Caluag II, a former high school principal who now works as a youth worker for the influential religious order.

Mawanay, known as "Ador" when he made his explosive revelations, was a former agent of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).

He has accused former PNP chief and now Sen. Panfilo Lacson of being the brains behind destabilization plots against the government. Lacson and his former lieutenants have also been linked to kidnappings, bank robberies, smuggling and the illegal drug trade.

In a news conference at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center in the Ateneo de Manila campus in Quezon City, Caluag said he felt it necessary to set the record straight as he denied charges by Lacson that the witness had been planted by ISAFP chief Victor Corpus to discredit him and the elite police unit he once headed.

Mawanay, who attended the news conference, is currently being assisted by members of the Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino II and lawyers from cause-oriented groups in helping build a case against Lacson.

The priest explained that he had the blessings of the Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Romeo Intengan, to place Mawanay under his care.

"I hope and pray that we can now focus on the investigation to establish the veracity of Mr. Mawanay’s allegations," Caluag said. "I also hope that this sets the record straight that Col. Corpus is not behind Mr. Mawanay’s emergence and confessions."

Caluag said he was out of the country when Lacson and Corpus had a heated exchange over Mawanay’s revelations.

"When I returned, I was also under the weather a bit, hence the delayed explanation," he said.

Caluag confirmed an earlier statement by Corpus that the witness first approached radio and TV personality Arnold Clavio.

"On June 26, Mr. Clavio was supposed to join me in a presentation in connection with a youth study. Instead, he arrived an hour late with Mawanay in tow," he said.

Mawanay, the priest said, was looking for a secure place for his wife and two children prior to making his revelations.

"I immediately made arrangements and was able to find several safe places. They were moving around from the evening of June 26 to the morning of June 30," he said.