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Dacer daughter: Michael Ray Aquino 'knows more' than Dumlao and Mancao

| 11/22/2008 8:54 PM

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The daughter of slain public relations specialist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer is hoping the government will also be able to extradite former police officer Michael Ray Aquino, who is incarcerated in United States for espionage.

In a live interview aired on The Filipino Channel's Balitang Amerika, Carina Dacer said the family is "very happy" over the arrests of former police officers Cesar Mancao and Glen Dumlao in the US, but said they are cautious about getting overjoyed about the news.

"This has been going on for eight years and everytime there is a development we get very excited that this is finally the day we'll know who ordered the killing, why he was murdered, but everytime, we get frustrated because nothing comes up," Dacer said.

She said her family is hoping that the government will also be able to get Aquino, whom, they believe "knows more on my father's disappearance than Dumlao and Mancao."

"I guess conversations with Mancao and Dumlao ng Philippine government when they were investigating this before, and from my understanding with some lawyers in the United States during Aquino's trial on the espionage, that they linked him to the murder. He knows," Dacer told ABS-CBN News.

As far as the Dacer family is concerned, Aquino is the closest person to the mastermind in his father's abduction and murder.

"Until we get a name of the mastermind, I would rather hold off on really celebrating," she added.

Mancao and Dumlao, both former police superintendents and officials of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, are accused of having involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.

Dumlao was arrested by U.S. immigration agents outside his apartment in Patchogue, New York, a Long Island village about 60 miles east of New York City, while Mancao was arrested Thursday in South Florida and reportedly being held at the Broward County Jail while awaiting a court appearance.

'Don't fight extradition'

The Department of Justice (DOJ) challenged Mancao and Dumlao to not fight their extradition back to the country and instead face the charges lodged against them.

"If you are innocent, then there is no reason to hide. It's better to face the charges," DOJ Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said Saturday.

Mary Rosebud Ong, meanwhile, appealed to other witnesses in the Dacer-Corbito case to surface and tell the truth.

She also took a swipe against Sen. Panfilo Lacson, one of her known enemies, saying his days are now numbered because most of the people involved in the case are associated with him.

Lacson was the head of the defunct PAOCTF. He headed the anti-kidnapping task force while he was the Philippine National Police chief.

The DOJ said that if there are additional evidences related to the case, they won't hesitate to amend the charge sheet.

Dumlao who is reportedly been wanted since October 2007 was working as a house cleaner, according to court papers.

Meanwhile, Mancao who was interviewed by Balitang America just earlier this month in Holywood, Florida, reportedly worked as a real estate agent. 

Mancao has been visible and active in the South Florida Filipino community organizing a successful basketball league called South Florida Philippine Basketball Association with former PBA player Rey Lazaro. With reports from The Filipino Channel's Balitang America, Jay Ruiz, ABS-CBN News Manila, and Lenn Thornhill, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau