Arraignment of Michael Ray deferred

MANILA, Philippines - The scheduled arraignment yesterday of former police officer Michael Ray Aquino, one of the principal accused in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, has been deferred for a month.

This came after Aquino’s lawyer Napoleon Poblador told the court that the defense had filed a motion for reinvestigation of the case against the former police official.

Poblador objected to the proposal of State Prosecutor Phillip Kimpo that Aquino should be arraigned since he was already present in court.

“But I told him not to arraign him (Aquino) because we just filed our motion for reinvestigation yesterday (Thursday),” said Poblador.

Poblador said they filed the motion for reinvestigation for the court to determine the existence of probable cause to indict Aquino for the November 2000 murders of publicist Salvador Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Manila Regional Trial Court branch 18 judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina reset the arraignment of Aquino to Aug. 1.

Poblador also called for deferment of the pending transfer of custody of Aquino from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to the Manila City Jail.

Poblador provided the court a copy of a two-page police threat assessment on Aquino. Poblador stressed Aquino would be in grave danger once placed in the Manila City Jail.

“The PNP (Philippine National Police) conducted a threat assessment. There was a fact-finding and the threat is very grave,” Poblador told the court.

“The likelihood that any of these criminals will unlawfully take revenge against Mr. Aquino cannot be ignored or discounted. It is of common knowledge that in the New Bilibid Prison and similar jails, the gang members exercise lawful control,” he said.

Aquino had served as chief operations officer of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Task Force (PAOCTF), the police unit suspected to have carried out the murders of Da-cer and Corbito in November 2000.