Palace hits efforts to discredit Mancao testimony

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang assailed yesterday efforts to discredit the testimony to be given by former police superintendent Cezar Mancao about the murders of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued the statement following accusations that Mancao, who is reportedly set to be deported to the Philippines in the next three weeks, was pressured by the government to implicate some opposition politicians in the double murder case.

Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier alleged that Malacañang had pressured Mancao while he was awaiting extradition to Manila.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Mancao, a former subordinate of Lacson in the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, could turn state witness.

Bello, a former justice secretary, branded Lacson’s statements as “speculation” since Mancao has yet to issue his affidavit.

“Let’s wait for Mr. Mancao to come back and hear from him. There may be some sectors who want to becloud or even demean the effects of the revelations of Mancao,” Bello told a news briefing.

“It will be Mancao who will tell the truth,” he said.

He said a person about to be implicated in a crime could resort to “legal, even extralegal means” to preempt damaging testimony.

Bello also maintained the Palace could not have influenced Mancao as he is in detention in the US.

He said the safety of Mancao is assured “because everybody wants to know the truth so we have to be sure that he is safe and alive.”

Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Maj. Gen. Romeo Prestoza maintained his silence amid allegations that he tried to pressure Mancao to testify on the Dacer-Corbito killings.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, AFP public affairs office chief quoting Prestoza, said they would wait for Mancao’s arrival in the country and for his affidavit to be executed before they could answer the charges.

Torres, however, assured the public of the military organization’s full cooperation in whatever investigation that might be called after Mancao’s arrival.

He said that as a matter of policy, all allegations, especially serious ones that involve military personnel, would be addressed in the proper forum.

“If Gen. Prestoza’s name crops up, the position of the AFP would be to submit its personnel for investigation before the proper forum,” he said.

Lacson earlier claimed Mancao might have decided to testify and sign the extradition waiver because of pressure from the government.

The senator also alleged that Prestoza, who is also a former Presidential Security Group chief, called Mancao in the US in September last year and promised reinstatement in the service in exchange for his testimony.

Mancao is one of three police officials who were tagged as suspects in the double murder case, along with 19 others.

The other two are ex-police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino and Glenn Dumlao, who are both in the US and are facing extradition. Aquino was earlier convicted of spying in the US.

Mancao, Aquino and Dumlao were previously assigned to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, which was then headed by Lacson.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez, Public Affairs Committee chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that the Church would support moves to turn Mancao into a state witness.

“If he can provide light and he is willing, the government must help him testify,” said Iniguez. – With James Mananghaya, Evelyn Macairan