COMPOSTELA VALLEY – Former police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II filed with the provincial Commission on Elections office his certificate of candidacy for the Congress seat representing the province’s first congressional district shortly before noon Monday.

The controversial police officer is the government’s witness to the Dacer-Corbito murders implicating Senator Panfilo Lacson and former President Joseph Estrada.

“I have returned to bring change and good governance to my district,” Mancao, who hails from the gold-rich and vote-rich town of Monkayo, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by mobile phone.

The 48-year-old Mancao is challenging Board Member Maria Carmen Zamora-Apsay, daughter of incumbent Representative Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora Jr. The elder Zamora is now on his last term.

Mancao and the Zamoras are town mates and are distant relatives.

The former police officer said his candidacy has been anchored on bringing about “graft-free” district and creating more jobs for his constituents.

“I have accomplished so much in other areas (as a police official), so my efforts now should be geared for the development of my place,” Mancao said.

In an earlier interview, Zamora-Apsay welcomed Mancao’s candidacy.

“He is a friend of the family, being a distant relative. I have nothing against him,” Zamora-Apsay told local media.

Mancao said his group would support the Liberal Party of Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, president and vice president bets, respectively.

Among Mancao’s allies is businesswoman Sheila Cualing-Soriano, daughter of the late Mayor Margarito Cualing of New Bataan town.

Cualing-Soriano is gunning for another shot at the mayoralty after her failed bid in the 2007 mid-term elections.

His province being placed under police watch during previous elections due to violence, Mancao is hopeful Compostela Valley would be safe during next year’s polls.

“Being a (former) law enforcer, I’m hoping for peaceful, credible and fair elections. I’m hoping my opponent will not resort to vote-buying and other forms of cheating as they are with the administration,” Mancao said. Frinston Lim, Inquirer Mindanao