Dacer family lawyer hopeful former cop’s return will finally solve case

‘Pick Up Blues’ for former police officer Michael Ray Aquino. INQUIRER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The lawyer of the family of slain publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer expressed hope Saturday the expected arrival on Sunday of former police official Michael Ray Aquino, an accused in the ongoing double murder trial, would lead to the resolution of the decade-old case.

“I view his return as a step in the right direction and hope that the case will soon be resolved. Upon his return, the court will have complete authority over him with regards to where he will be jailed and when he will be called to appear in court,” Demetrio Custodio said in a text message answering an Inquirer query.

Media reports, and an Inquirer source, said Aquino was arriving in the country early Sunday.

Aquino is being extradited from the United States where he had spent the last 10 years, six of which behind bars in relation to an espionage case in 2007.

Custodio reiterated his belief that Aquino “has some involvement or at least some knowledge of the murders, he being the second-highest official of the PAOCTF (Presidential Anti-Organized Task Force).”

The PAOCTF  was alleged to have carried out the murders of Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.

The Dacer family has had recent setbacks in the case, from the dismissal by the Court of Appeals of the complaint against Senator Panfilo Lacson to the Supreme Court’s denial of their appeal to reverse the appellate court’s ruling.

Asked if he was looking forward to the reinvestigation by the Department of Justice of the case, Custodio said, “Anything that will lead to the solving of the murders would be something worth looking forward to.”