Another high-profile fugitive to fall – Noy

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino hinted yesterday that another top fugitive will soon fall following the arrest of real estate developer Delfin Lee recently.

Aquino, however, refused to disclose the fugitive’s identity so as not to jeopardize the ongoing operations of law enforcement agencies.

“Let’s just wait for the police operations to end and you will see the competence shown by our law enforcement entities,” he said, adding the public might be surprised at how the authorities managed to monitor the fugitive’s trail.

The President disclosed that authorities have raised the reward for the arrest of the high-profile criminal.

Other high-profile fugitives who remain at large are retired military general Jovito Palparan, former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother ex-Coron mayor Mario Reyes, former police officer Cezar Mancao, former Dinagat congressman Ruben Ecleo Jr. and Reynald Lim, brother of alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Only Lee and Napoles, who surrendered to Aquino in August last year, are the high-profile fugitives now under government custody.

Lee, owner of Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp., is facing syndicated estafa charges for defrauding Pag-IBIG Fund of more than P7 billion from March 2008 to August 2010. The amount far exceeded the P500-million annual limit that Pag-IBIG grants to accredited developers.

Palparan, on the other hand, is facing serious illegal detention charges for the disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeo in 2006. Authorities have raised from P1 million to P2 million the reward for anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of Palparan, once a member of a paramilitary party-list group.

The Reyes brothers, who have a P2-million bounty on their heads, were accused of masterminding the murder of environmentalist and broadcaster Gerry Ortega.

Ecleo was convicted of parricide for killing his wife in Cebu City in 2002.

Cezar Mancao is implicated in the double murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000. He escaped from the NBI jail in Manila in May 2013.