MANILA, Philippines – After 22 years of hiding, former Philippine National Police (PNP) officer William Reed, was arrested by the police in Pulilan, Bulacan on January 22, 2023.

Reed was among the suspects in the Dacer-Corbito murder case that became sensational during the early 2000s. The former cop was part of the interior department’s list of most wanted, and carried a bounty of P250,000. And his arrest became the latest development in the 23-year-old case.

Who are Dacer and Corbito?

Salvador “Buddy” Dacer is a known public relations man. He worked as a publicist for former president Joseph Estrada, while Emmanuel Corbito was Dacer’s driver.

Before the two’s brutal death, Dacer was summoned in Malacañang by Estrada because he was accused of lobbying for the impeachment of the then-president.

The two were abducted in Manila on November 24, 2000 and after they went missing for five months – in April 2001 – their burned remains were discovered in a creek in Indang, Cavite. The remains were discovered only after two of the suspects brought authorities to the scene.

They recovered only fragments of bones and teeth from the area. Done by forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, examinations positively identified the remains as belonging to Dacer and Corbito.

Based on reports, the two were believed to be strangled by electric cord, burned, and were buried in the area. This happened several hours after they were snatched from their vehicle in the country’s capital.

Who were implicated?

The double murder case was sensational because names of powerful politicians and officials at that time were implicated in the murders.

Then top official, Estrada, was tagged because he summoned his publicist before Dacer went missing. Ampy, Dacer’s daughter, confirmed that he witnessed the former president raising his voice at her father.

Another former president was also blamed. Estrada’s camp blamed the late former president Fidel V. Ramos, Estrada’s predecessor, for the murders because Dacer was about to meet Ramos at the Manila Hotel the day he and his driver were abducted.

Former PNP chief and senator Panfilo Lacson was also implicated. The involvement of some agents of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) tainted Lacson’s name because he was the task force’s head at the time. The PAOCTF was later abolished through an executive order in April 2001.

Also, Lacson was among Estrada’s favorite generals back then.

On May 12, 2001, at least 22 people were charged by the Department of Justice before a Manila court for the murders. These included: Senior Police Officer 4 Marino Soberano, SPO3 Mauro Torres, SPO3 Jose Escalante, SPO4 Mario Sarmiento, SPO1 William Reed, SPO1 Ruperto Nemeno, Police Officer 2 Thomas Sarmiento, Crisostomo Purificacion, Digo de Pedro, Renato Malabanan, Margarito Cuenco, and Rommel Rollan.

Others tagged were: Glen Dumlao, Vicente Arnado, Roberto Langcauon. In 2009, the Dacer family filed a complaint against Lacson, but the former senator was later cleared by the Court of Appeals in 2011.

Meanwhile, in 2020, one of the former cops tagged in the case, Cezar Mancao II, was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte as head of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center.

Mancao, who used to be under the Witness Protection Program, testified against Estrada and Lacson during the trial. He later cleared the former president and PAOCTF chief.

What are the possible motives?

A two-part story written by journalist Aries Rufo for Newsbreak detailed the possible motives of the people implicated in the Dacer-Corbito case.

Before Dacer went missing, he wrote to his close friend, retired General Jose Almonte, about the supposed threats to his life. In a letter published by Newsbreak, Dacer told the retired general that he wrote so that it cannot be recorded by Lacson or Estrada.

Dacer, even though he worked for Estrada, had a turbulent relationship with the former president.

In another letter dated June 9, 1999, Dacer listed down names of supposed people behind a demolition job against him. He named Lacson, who was at the time gunning for the post of PNP chief. Dacer, in a separate letter, even said Lacson was “manipulating” Estrada’s mind.

Dacer also cautioned Estrada against appointing Lacson. The publicist said he was more in favor of Reynaldo Wycoco, who was the National Capital Region Police Office chief then.

Court records also showed that it was the PAOCTF, which was behind the abduction of Dacer and Corbito. – Rappler.com