Palace expects Dacer-Corbito case closure

Malacañang on Sunday voiced hope that the return of former Senior Supt. Michael Ray Aquino would bring closure to the Dacer-Corbito slay case.

“For the sake of those who are involved and also for the sake of the family, we hope there will be a closure,” presidential deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said over state radio.

Asked about Aquino’s statement that former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Panfilo Lacson had no hand in the double murder, Valte said: “The proper venue there would be the court. The judge will make a judgment on that.”

Demetrio Custodio Jr., a lawyer for the children of murdered publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer, urged Aquino to come clean and “not just deny involvement.”

“We expect the return of Michael Ray Aquino to be a positive development … He should have knowledge of what really happened. It will not serve him if he will just clear Lacson,” Custodio said.

“He can’t just say that Dacer and Corbito were killed without someone masterminding the whole thing,” the lawyer added.

Former Senior Supt. Cezar Mancao II, a prosecution witness, said the return of Aquino was a step further toward finding “justice in this case.”

However, Mancao did not hide his disappointment at Aquino’s statement that Estrada and Lacson had nothing to do with the twin slays.

Mancao has testified that he heard Lacson—their police superior at the time—order Aquino to abduct Dacer upon the instruction of “Bigote,” supposedly a code name of Estrada.

“As the saying goes, ‘Man only sees in part, but God sees the whole thing.’ I know God knows what happened. I’ll just anchor my strength and faith on Him,” Mancao told the Inquirer.

“I know that truth will come out in time,” he said. TJ Burgonio and Marlon Ramos