EDITORIAL - This time, keep him locked up

You’d think it was a politician speaking. Norberto Manero, convicted of murdering a priest and accused of eating the victim’s brain, surrendered yesterday after 18 days in hiding. Apparently tired of life as a fugitive, Manero said flippantly that he gave up on orders of his wife and the urging of friends. He denied that politicians were involved in his escape or that they gave him sanctuary during his days in hiding. He bolted the Sarangani jail, he said, to protest the slow pace of his double murder case. And he wants the reinstatement of jail guards who were sacked because of his escape.

Manero was brought to the headquarters of the military’s Southern Command in Zamboanga City. From there he will reportedly be transferred to the Davao provincial jail. Will jail authorities manage to keep him detained this time? They better. Manero, a former paramilitary member who used to hunt down communist rebels, has been making a mockery of the country’s penal system since his arrest for the murder of Italian priest Tullio Favali. And the widespread suspicion is that Manero has been doing it with the help not just of jail guards but of influential friends in government.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding Manero’s escape, the go-vernment has once again been reminded of the slow administration of justice in this country. Manero, who is appealing the revocation of his presidential pardon for Favali’s murder, is detained for the killing of two brothers. Manero complained that the trial of the double murder case was suspended 15 times because the pro-secution could not produce witnesses against him. He said the case was supposed to have been submitted for resolution last month but was postponed anew to May 7. And that was why he escaped.

There’s no arguing that the admi-nistration of justice moves at snail’s pace in this country. But even granting that Manero’s complaint was valid, surely he knows that his escape did nothing to speed up the resolution of his case. Now he’ll have to be penalized for his escape. That is, if guards can keep him in jail long enough.