March 6, 2010. MANILA, Philippines. Fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s lawyer believes that former police officer Michael Ray Aquino, ordered extradited by a US court, will not turn against his client.
“The return of [Sr. Supt.] Michael Ray Aquino will not strengthen the case against Sen. Panfilo Lacson because he will never turn state witness against him,” Atty. Alex Avisado said in a text
Fugitive Senator Lacson message.
On Thursday, the US District Court of New Jersey in Newark granted the request of the Philippine government to extradite Aquino in connection with the Salvador “Bubby” Dacer-Emmanuel Corbito double murder case.
Aquino, a former member of the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) is charged with conspiring with other individuals in the murder of Dacer and Corbito more than 9 years ago.
Avisado said that unlike another police official, Cezar Mancao, Aquino “has repeatedly turned down several tempting offers to testify against Sen. Lacson.”
“We are confident he will not enter into a deal with a government that is already on its way out,” Avisado added.
‘Aquino the missing piece’
Meanwhile, the Dacer family lawyer said Aquino’s testimony is the missing piece in the case since he was the next in line to Lacson in PAOCTF.
“He was also present when Lacson supposedly told Mancao to get rid of Dacer. He has the most valuable and extensive information on PAOCTF’s operations,” said Atty. Demetrio Custodio.
Lacson is facing murder charges before the Manila Regional Trial Court for allegedly masterminding the killing of the publicist and his driver.
The senator has denied the charges, saying the raps were an attempt of the government to get back at him for his highly critical stance.
Lacson left the country last January 5 and had reportedly visited Macau and Guangdong province in China. A source from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Lacson left Zhuhai City in Guangdong last January 18 and drove to Macau using a rented car on the same date.
Reports from Timi Nubla, ABS-CBN News