3 days after surrender, Mancao must be set free—lawyer

Former Senior Supt. Cezar
Mancao II. EDWIN BACASMAS/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Former Senior Superintendent Cesar Mancao should be released immediately three days after he surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP), his lawyer said Thursday.

Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said Mancao is under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) and has testified against Senator Panfilo Lacson on his involvement in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

READ: Ex-cop in Dacer-Corbito slay case Mancao surrenders to police

“Therefore, under Sec. 12 of Republic Act 6981 or the Witness Protection Act, the Court must order his discharge as an accused because (of his) admission to the WPP,” said Topacio.

Under the WPP, once admitted, he said, a witness like Mancao is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution.

Mancao was previously detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) but escaped from the facility in 2013.

READ: Mancao surrenders 3 years after escape

Topacio said he wrote former Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila De Lima as early as 2012 to release Mancao “but for some strange and esoteric reasons, she refused to do so.”

“This has resulted in an anomalous and unfair situation for Mr. Mancao wherein he is the only accused left in the Dacer-Corbito case, although he is the star witness for the prosecution.”

Topacio noted that Mancao’s co-accused Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, who violated his WPP immunity by testifying in favor of the accused, has been reinstated and is currently the head of the PNP’s Anti-Kidnapping Group.

“We call on Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre to honor the commitment made by the Philippine Government in favor of Mr. Mancao, as the same is not only an entitlement of Mr. Mancao under the law, but the credibility of the WPP is also at stake,” Topacio said. RAM/rga