Mancao's lawyer not convinced of Erap's involvement in Dacer case

MANILA, Philippines - The lawyer of former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao II is not convinced that former President Joseph Estrada is involved in the killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said it is “procedurally infirm” for the Dacer family to include Estrada in the preliminary investigation of the Dacer-Corbito murder case based on the open court testimony of Mancao last Sept. 3.

Topacio said Mancao has not yet terminated his testimony regarding the prosecution’s motion to have him discharged as state witness.

“Therefore, we cannot see how Mr. Mancao’s testimony of 03 September 2009, as well as any other testimony given by him before the court trying the case, may be legally used to include former President Estrada in the complaint now pending before the DOJ (Department of Justice), while the question of Mr. Mancao’s discharge as state witness is yet unresolved,” read the lawyer’s statement. 

Topacio said under the Rules of Court and in jurisprudence, unless and until Mancao is discharged as a state witness, his testimony cannot be used for any other purpose.

The use of Mancao’s testimony is contingent on his future discharge as a state witness, he added.

Topacio said if Mancao is not discharged as a state witness, his testimony would be inadmissible as evidence.

It is only the Feb. 13, 2009 affidavit of Mancao which he has already affirmed in person before the DOJ that remains as his sole testimony as far as the preliminary investigation before the DOJ on the matter is concerned.

“We are appealing to the other concerned parties in the Dacer-Corbito case that, while we have pledged full cooperation to get to the naked truth of the said crime, we must do so in a manner that is in accordance with substantive and procedural laws, and we shall naturally safeguard the rights of Mr. Mancao, specially as pertains to his possible discharge as state witness, from any jeopardy which premature moves in the DOJ may expose such rights,” read the statement.

On the other hand, the lawyer of the Dacer family sees sufficient basis in Mancao’s testimony to link Estrada to the killing.

Lawyer Demetrio Custodio said the inclusion of Estrada in the murder charges was approved by the Dacer sisters who are in the US.

“There was clear indication in Mancao’s testimony in court of President Estrada’s involvement in the case, so we are already preparing an amended complaint to be filed in the DOJ,” he said.

Custodio said their decision to file a complaint against Estrada was not based on the revelation of Sen. Panfilo Lacson during his privilege speech at he Senate last Monday.

“There is a need to amend the present complaint so that those responsible for the gruesome killing of Dacer and Corbito, particularly former President Joseph Estrada, may be made to answer for the crime,” read the motion Custodio filed before the DOJ.

The motion was filed the day Lacson delivered a privilege speech at the Senate.

The preliminary investigation on the Dacer-Corbito murders will resume on Friday, when the NBI is expected to submit evidence on the murder case.

Lacson urged to shed immunity

The People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) party-list group dared Sen. Lacson yesterday to shed off his parliamentary immunity and make his accusations against former President Estrada outside the halls of the Senate so he can be sued for libel.

Speaking to reporters in Quezon City, Ronald Lumbao, PMAP chairman, said Lacson’s allegation against Estrada is part of a grand political plot to ease out the former President from the 2010 presidential election.

“Senator Lacson should be man enough to waive his parliamentary immunity by making his accusation outside the halls of the Senate.”

Lumbao said the plot is to pinpoint Estrada as the mastermind in the Dacer-Corbito murder case and jail him before next year’s elections, and Lacson would be exonerated and hailed as a hero of the people.

“If the blame will be pinned on President Estrada, there will be no more hindrance for re-installation of people behind EDSA 2,” he said.

Lumbao said the shadow of the Dacer-Corbito murders and other crimes is now closing in on Lacson, and that he has no other option but to drag Estrada into the controversy. – With Sandy Araneta, Perseus Echeminada