2 Erap buddies deny coddling lawman linked to Dacer killing

CABARROGUIS, Quirino — Gov. Pedro Bacani belied police intelligence reports yesterday that he was coddling a high-ranking member of the disbanded Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) who was linked to the kidnapping and murder of public relations man Salvador "Bubby" Dacer.

Bacani, along with former Presidential Assistant for Northern Luzon Junie Cua, also debunked claims of they having knowledge of the whereabouts of Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, whom the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has implicated in the killing of 63-year-old Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito.

Bacani, saying he was deeply bothered by the intelligence reports, promised to facilitate Dumlao’s arrest if he gets information about the police lieutenant-colonel’s whereabouts.

"I am no coddler of Glenn. If I only knew his whereabouts, I would even lead in his arrest," Bacani told The STAR.

The governor denied that Dumlao is his nephew, saying they have no relations, except that both of them hail from Maddela town.

Bacani and Cua, both allies of ousted President Joseph Estrada, also denied reports that they met Dumlao after he went into hiding.

Police intelligence sources said Dumlao frequented the residences of Bacani and Cua in Maddela and neighboring Aglipay town, respectively, while police and NBI agents were hunting him down.

The two politicians, however, said they have never met Dumlao after he was linked to the Dacer-Corbito murder case.

Dumlao, along with Bacani, was also implicated in the abduction-murder of Morjil Valencia, a barangay chairman in Diffun town, in January 1999.

Morjil suffered a brutal death like Dacer and Corbito. His eyes were plucked out, his fingernails and toenails removed, and his genitals severed.

Dacer and Corbito, on the other hand, were burned after they were strangled to death. Their remains were discovered in Indang, Cavite nearly five months after they were abducted at the corner of South Superhighway and Zobel street in Manila, while on their way to an appointment with former President Fidel Ramos.