Mancao firm on claim linking Ping to slays – DOJ

FORMER Senior Supt. Cesar Mancao II will not likely change his sworn affidavit alleging that publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito were killed upon orders of then Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) chief and now Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday.

“No, Mancao stays steadfast on his statement,” Gonzalez said when asked if there is any indication of Mancao’s changing his mind.

Gonzalez made the statement even as he admitted he received information about Mancao’s making deposition on May 22, paving the way for his eventual extradition to the Philippines soon.

However, the DOJ chief said he has yet to receive official communications from the US State Department about the status of Mancao’s case. 

“None yet from the US authorities but I have received communication informing me about that (Mancao’s making deposition).  Until we can get something official I don’t want to assume that everything is as we are expecting. Hintay-hintayin natin,” he said.

Nonetheless, Gonzalez said he expects the US authorities to send communication any time this week regarding the arrangements for the extradition of Mancao, who expressed willingness to turn into a state witness in the trial of the Dacer-Corbito murder case.

“I would expect that probably within next week, there will be development,” the DOJ chief said in an interview.

Reports indicated that Mancao, who is currently detained in a facility in Miami, Florida made a final deposition on May 22 which, according to this lawyer Arnedo Valera, removes all legal impediments for his return to the country.

Mancao earlier said he would not waver in his commitment to stand as state witness in the killing of Dacer and his driver in November 2000, where he implicated Lacson as the one who ordered the commission of the crime. Lacson has repeatedly denied involvement in the killings. 

According to his lawyer, Mancao confirmed and reaffirmed in his deposition the truth of the facts stated in his affidavits of March 1, 2007, and Feb. 14, 2009, specifically pinpointing the role of his colleague, former Senior Supt. Michael Ray Aquino, in the double murder case.

“He also affirmed that these affidavits were done voluntarily, freely and without undue influence or intimidation from any party,” the lawyer said in a report.

Present during Mancao’s deposition were Eric Kanefsky, assistant US attorney representing the Philippine government; Eric Berman, Aquino’s lawyer, and a court stenographer, Valera disclosed.