THE Philippine National Police (PNP) denied Thursday that former police officer Cezar Mancao II, one of the principal accused in the Dacer-Corbito murder case, was receiving special treatment in Camp Crame.
After almost three years in hiding, Mancao turned himself in last Monday to Senior Superintendent Belli Tamayo, director of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) National Capital Region (NCR) in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
"Without any advise or middleman or paunang emissary, feelers or what. He just came in to our office and presented himself. Hindi ko nga po siya nakilala kasi syempre tendency hindi mo makilala kung matagal mo hindi nakita 'yung tao," said Tamayo.
Tamayo said Mancao is now being held inside an office in the CIDG-NCR.
"As custodian of the accused, it is also our responsibility to keep the detainees safe so we have assessed there is a need for us to separate him from other suspects like drug suspects and Abu Sayyaf so I had him closely guarded for us to be sure that we can present him when the court so desires," he said.
Despite being was a former classmate of PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa and CIDG director Roel Obusan in the Philippine Military Academy, Tamayo maintained that CIDG was not giving VIP treatment to Mancao.
However, Tamayo refused to release Mancao's mug shot to the media, saying it was the advise of the PNP legal officer.
"…I consulted our legal division and the advise is for us not to officially release (Mancao's mugshot)," he said.
Mancao is facing murder charges for his alleged involvement in the killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000.
Mancao was able to escape from the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation in 2013, complaining that all others who were implicated in case had already been cleared and were already released.
Other personalities charged over the murder case were incumbent Anti-Kidnapping Group Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, who was reinstated in the police service after being cleared by the court, Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, and now-Senator Panfilo Lacson, who was acquitted of the crime. (SunStar Philippines)