NBI files raps vs 10 more PAOCTF men in Dacer slay

Ten officers and men of the disbanded Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) led by a police superintendent were charged with the murders of public relations man Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito before the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) charged the following: Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, Chief Inspector Boy Arnaldo, Inspector Bobby Langcauan, Senior Police Officer 4 Boy Taulava, a certain Senior Police Officer 3 Villanueva and Police Officer 3 Lacasandile, Senior Police Officers 1 Mario Sarmiento, William Reed and Ruperto Aguilar Nemene, and Police Officer 2 Thomas Japitan Sarmiento.

However, State Prosecutor Ruben Carretas, head of the three-member investigating panel, told reporters yesterday the Dacer-Corbito case is not yet closed.

"It’s not yet closed, in so far as this investigating panel is concerned," he said. "We are still in the process of investigating. Maybe as far as the police work is concerned , they are finished. But with us, this is not yet closed."

NBI supervising agent Antonio Suarez told reporters that the case was filed at the DOJ’s records section.

But Carretas said he had reset yesterday’s preliminary investigation to May 4 after lawyers of earlier suspects Senior Police Officer 4 Marino Soberano and Senior Police Officers 3 Jose Escalante and Mauro Torres had sought an extension.

Earlier, Soberano, Escalante and Torres, along with civilians Crisostomo Purificacion, Digo de Pedro, Renato and Jovencio Malabanan, Rommel Rollan, Margarito Cueno, William and Jimmy Lopez, and Alex Diloy were charged with the Dacer-Corbito murders.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco has asked Justice Secretary Hernando Perez that the Lopez brothers and Diloy be dropped from the charges and made state witnesses.

Reports said the kidnapping cases against Soberano would be integrated with the murder charges after a witness identified him as the one who snatched Dacer and Corbito at the corner of Zobel Roxas Street and Sergio Osmeña Avenue in Manila on Nov. 22 last year.

The NBI said witnesses also pointed to Nemeno and Sarmiento as among the PAOCTF agents who kidnapped Dacer and Corbito, and took them to Indang, Cavite to be killed.

According to the NBI, Dacer and Corbito were blindfolded and thrown in a white van, where they were presented to Escalante’s group as "notorious kidnappers and carnappers."

Later Arnaldo instructed Escalante to "kill; and reduce to dust" Dacer and Corbito, and Escalante, along with Soberano, Purificacion, Taulava, and Sarmiento brought them to Indang in Cavite, the NBI added.

The NBI said Jimmy Lopez and Torres met Escalante’s group in Barangay Buna Lejos in Indang town and "unloaded" Dacer and Corbito in the garage of William Lopez.

Soberano and Purificacion later went to Dasmariñas town to get Dacer’s car and drove to Indang and hid it in the garage of William Lopez, the NBI added.

The NBI said at 8 p.m. the same day, Dacer and Corbito were taken to a creek, where they were strangled to death before their bodies were thrown into a pyre.

Three days later, Escalante, Torres, Soberano, and Purificacion took Dacer’s car from the garage of William Lopez and dumped it in a ravine in Barangay Bucal in Maragondon town, the NBI added.

Wycoco showed to reporters yesterday a photocopy of a check for P1 million allegedly issued to Dacer by former Philippine National Police and PAOCTF chief Panfilo Lacson, who is now a senatorial candidate of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Puwersa ng Masa coalition.

Wycoco said NBI agents are trying to find out why Lacson had issued Dacer a check and then ordered the bank to stop payment for no apparent reason.

"We want to know from him (Lacson) what was the money for, from where did he get it and why was the payment stopped?" he said. "This is a question that should be answered by the one who issued the check."

Wycoco said the check was issued on Sept. 18, 1995 and drawn on the BF Homes Parañaque branch of PCIBank and carried the number 107314A.

Wycoco said it was deposited to savings account No. 96-702536-7 under the name of Bubby Dacer and Associates in Traders Royal Bank.

Wycoco said relatives of Dacer gave the check to the NBI after the the bureau started investigating the Dacer-Corbito kidnapping-murder case.

"We are looking into the significance of the check to the case," he said. "But definitely, explanations will have to be made as to why this check was issued to Dacer. We want to know if the check was drawn from PAOCTF or PACC funds or was it his (Lacson’s) personal money."

Wycoco said he will summon Lacson to appear at the NBI to answer questions regarding the check.

In an official statement yesterday, Lacson said he issued the check to Dacer in 1995 as down payment for his public relations services in the Kuratong Baleleng case.

"I was commissioned by the group, our group to get in touch with him for our PR effort," he said. "But when we could not afford his fee, we withdrew the contract. That is probably the reason why the check was canceled or a ‘stop payment" order was made."

Lacson said the contract for Dacer’s public relations services did not push through because they could not afford his professional fee.