(UPDATE) Mancao placed under witness protection
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/30/2009 3:39 PM
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Mancao enters not guilty plea
Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera on Tuesday announced that former police police officer Cezar Mancao II has been placed under the government's Witness Protection Program (WPP), making him a state witness in the double murder case of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, in November 2000.
"The department has approved the coverage of Mancao under the WPP. This settles the issue on the transfer of Mancao to any other jail," Devanadera told reporters, referring to petitions of some groups that Mancao be transferred by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to a common jail.
The justice secretary said the government took in Mancao as state witness "because his testimony is very material to the successful prosecution of the case."
She added that the former police official needs to be placed under the government's protection due to the threats to his life and family.
Mancao, who flew to United States, after former President Joseph Estrada's ouster in 2001 was one of the key personalities tagged in the November 2000 kidnapping and murder of Dacer and Corbito.
In an affidavit executed in the US last February 13, Mancao linked Estrada and Sen. Panfilo Lacson in the murders.
Lacson was Mancao's commander in the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, which was formed by Estrada to crack down on kidnapping groups in the country.
Not guilty plea
Mancao, meanwhile, entered a “not guilty” plea during his arraignment proceedings at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18.
Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez, RTC Baranch 18 presiding judge, did not allow media coverage during the proceedings which took an hour.
Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said Mancao felt relieved after entering the not guilty plea since he was able tell the truth.
Topacio said that during the court proceeding, they opposed a motion to transfer Mancao to the Manila City Jail from the custody of the NBI.
Mancao’s lawyer said they were elated that Mancao was placed under the Witness Protection Program.
Topacio said that this means Mancao can be taken under the custody of government agencies such as the NBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), or the Philippine National Police.
Topacio admitted, however, that they have to receive a copy of the Department of Justice (DOJ) order placing his client under the WPP. He said that he and Mancao would visit Devanadera to confirm the order.
The pre-trial proceedings on the reopened Dacer-Corbito double murder case was set on Aug. 13. -- With a report from Cecille Lardizabal, ABS-CBN News
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