EDITORIAL - With a little help from his friends

He has been convicted of murdering a priest and accused of eating his victim’s brains. Norberto Manero, however, has apparently not run out of influential friends. Before dawn last Thursday, Manero escaped from the Sarangani provincial jail where he was being detained pending the outcome of his trial for kidnapping and another case of murder.

It was not the first time that Manero pulled such a feat. Arrested for the 1977 abduction and murder of Ali and Mambatawan Mamalum-pong in South Cotabato, Manero bolted jail in 1981 before the case could go to trial. In 1985, Italian priest Tullio Favali was murdered by members of Manero’s religious cult in North Cotabato. Manero, his two brothers and four other cult members were convicted two years later and sentenced to life in prison. Before the presidential elections in 1992, Manero escaped but was recaptured. During the Ramos administration, Manero’s sentence was reduced to 24 years. He was pardoned by Joseph Estrada late last year and set free. Amid the consequent furor, the Mamalumpong case was revived and Manero was again arrested.

The apparent soft spot among some government officials for a priest’s murderer may have its roots in Manero’s background. Manero was a member of a paramilitary unit formed by the government during the Marcos regime to fight communist insurgents. His cult, however, was tapped by the military and police as well as politicians for other purposes. Is it just a coincidence that for the second time, Manero has escaped during a campaign period? How can such a notorious detainee escape without the collusion of persons in authority?

The government must find Manero quickly before he is used by his protectors for so-called special operations. There are enough problems surrounding the forthcoming elections without a murderer like Manero on the loose to carry out dirty tricks. Police must not only find him but also determine who sprung him from jail. It’s not enough that Manero be dragged back to his detention cell and punished. This time, authorities must get the people who abetted his escape, and put them all together with Manero in the same cell.