Davao penal colony execs refuse to bring Manero to Sarangani for today’s hearing

DAVAO CITY — Officials of the Davao Penal Colony refused to bring convicted priest-killer Norberto Manero to Sarangani today for his scheduled trial for the killings of two brothers, because of the absence of any approval from the Supreme Court.

"We will abide by the law. We cannot bring him to Sarangani because we don’t have the necessary exemption from the High Tribunal for him to be brought out of the penal colony for the hearing this morning," Dapecol director Alfredo Gozon told The STAR.

The High Court has reportedly not acted yet on the petition of the Sarangani Regional Trial Court seeking an exemption for Manero.

Gozon said the law provides that no prisoner sentenced to death or life imprisonment be brought out of jail unless with the Supreme Court’s go-signal.

"I don’t know if the hearing will be postponed. But even if Manero will not be there, he can still be represented by his lawyers," Gozon said.

Gozon said they are exploring the possibility that the hearings be held at the penal colony to better ensure the security of Manero who had bolted jail thrice since he was imprisoned in 1987.

Manero last escaped from the Sarangani Rehabilitation Center on March 22, as he complained about the slow resolution of his case involving the 1977 murders of brothers Ali and Mamwabtan Mamalumpong. He lamented that his trial has been reset 15 times.

Gozon said Manero will remain detained at the penal colony’s maximum security unit since the order issued by former President Joseph Estrada on March 10, 2000 revoking his pardon is still in effect.

Estrada, in his order, canceled the commutation of Manero’s life sentence to 16 years which former President Fidel Ramos had granted, as well the conditional pardon with parole condition which Estrada himself had given him.

Estrada revoked the pardon after Manero was found to have a pending arrest warrant for the Mamalumpong murders.

Manero was meted a life sentence for the 1985 slaying of Italian priest Tullio Favali in Tulunan, Sultan Kudarat.

Dapecol officials, meanwhile, rejected the request of Manero’s relatives that they be allowed to join the convoy that would take him to Sarangani, more than 300 kilometers from the Davao Penal Colony in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte.

Bureau of Corrections director Ricardo Macala turned down the request of Julie Yee, Manero’s common-law wife, that Manero’s relatives be allowed to join the convoy.

Prison officials are apprehensive because Yee was reported to have aided Manero when he escaped from the Sarangani jail last March 22 by hiding him inside the trunk of her car.

Macala said Manero’s security is the concern of prison officials, not his relatives’.

Prison officials also rejected suggestions that Manero be ferried by a military helicopter to Sarangani, the same way he was brought to Dapecol after he surrendered last April 2.

Manero was fetched by a Huey helicopter from a remote barangay in Polomolok, South Cotabato, after which he was brought to Zamboanga City where he briefly met President Arroyo.