Erap to Mancao: Face charges; Lacson: ‘Forgiven’

Paterno R. Esmaquel II

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Erap to Mancao: Face charges; Lacson: ‘Forgiven’
Ex-police chief Panfilo Lacson however thanks Cezar Mancao II, who implicated him in a high-profile murder, 'for letting me know who my true friends are'

MANILA, Philippines – Former president Joseph Estrada dared former police officer Cezar Mancao II on Saturday, February 7, to face the charges against him after Mancao hinted at surrendering after two years in hiding.

Estrada and his former police chief, Panfilo Lacson, also both said they forgive former Police Senior Superintendent Mancao for associating them with the murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, in 2000.

Dapat harapin niya ang mga paratang sa kanya. Kung wala siyang kasalanan, siyempre malilinis lahat na pinaratang sa kanya,” Estrada said in an interview with radio station dzBB on Saturday. (He has to face the charges against him. If he did nothing wrong, of course the charges against him will be dismissed.)

Estrada issued this statement after Mancao on Saturday said he wants to re-surface. Mancao told dzBB he doesn’t want to end up like Zulkifli bin Hir, better known as Marwan, the most wanted terrorist who died in a recent bloodbath in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Mancao also apologized to Estrada, now Manila mayor, for “disrespecting” him; to Lacson, now the government’s outgoing rehabilitation secretary, for “destroying his name and reputation”; and to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who oversees the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), from which he escaped in May 2013

Like Estrada, Lacson said he forgives Mancao but also criticized his former officer.

Lacson hits ‘weak character’

“More than the persecution of innocent people, what Cezar Mancao did 4 years ago spoke of his weak character,” Lacson said.

Mancao had testified that Lacson, as well as his former aides, Michael Ray Aquino and Glenn Dumlao, masterminded the Dacer-Corbito murder.

In 2011, however, the Court of Appeals dismissed the case against Lacson as it called Mancao an “incredible and unworthy witness.” In 2012, a court in Manila also ordered Aquino’s release from the NBI.

In his statement on Saturday, Lacson said: “Surely, I know all those who committed incriminatory machination, even subornation of perjury, by the assigned prosecutor herself, and I will never forget their names. Regardless, I have already forgiven all of them.”

“In a way, I thank them for letting me know who my true friends are,” the former police chief added.

De Lima, for her part, challenged Mancao on Saturday to tell the “plain and naked truth.”

“If he really wants to surrender to me, my condition is for him to come clean this time and not waste our time. And his surrender must be on my own terms, and not his. As a fugitive, he cannot be dictating the terms,” De Lima said. – Rappler.com

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Paterno R. Esmaquel II

Paterno R. Esmaquel II, news editor of Rappler, specializes in covering religion and foreign affairs. He finished MA Journalism in Ateneo and MSc Asian Studies (Religions in Plural Societies) at RSIS, Singapore. For story ideas or feedback, email pat.esmaquel@rappler.com