De Lima vows to catch Mancao

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima has vowed to catch fugitive double murder suspect Cezar Mancao II.

“We assure you that the long arm of the law will soon get him (Cezar Mancao) and place him where he properly belongs,” she said in a statement.

De Lima on Wednesday declined to make any more comment about Mancao, pointing out that the statement she issued on Tuesday night will be her last statement on him.

“Pardon me, but I noticed every time I make comments the issue becomes bigger,” she told reporters.

“As I’ve said, we have more important things to do like (investigating) the Taiwan issue,” De Lima said, in reference to the ongoing investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation of the May 9 fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Coast Guard authorities.

In her statement on Tuesday night, De Lima dared Mancao to come out from hiding if he was “man enough.”

Exasperated by Mancao’s taunts against authorities who continue to look for the fugitive to no avail, De Lima asked Mancao “to stop his antics.”

“If he is man enough, he should face his case instead of playing a cat and mouse game,” De Lima said.