Estrada: Let courts decide Manero case

DAVAO CITY -- Norberto Manero Jr. is totally on his own.

President Estrada said yesterday that he is keeping a hands-off policy in the case of the pardoned priest-killer who surrendered Friday to face a 22-year-old double kidnapping with murder case in South Cotabato.

At a press conference here, the President said he is leaving Manero's case completely to the courts which he believes can best decide on the pardoned murderer's fate.

"I leave it to the courts. They know what they are doing. I will just wait for their order," the President said.

Mr. Estrada granted Manero conditional pardon before Christmas last year after the controversial militia leader spent 11 years in jail for killing Italian priest Tullio Favali in North Cotabato in 1985.

The conditional pardon, however, was criticized by various sectors, including the influential Catholic Church which called for its revocation on grounds that Manero continues to be a threat to the stability of Mindanao.

The Department of Justice's Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) is now reviewing Manero's case and is looking at possible violations by the priest-killer on the conditions set for his freedom.

Manero surfaced Friday at the office of Philippine National Police chief Deputy Director General Panfilo Lacson to answer charges that he led the abduction and killing of brothers Ali and Mambawatan Mamalumpong in South Cotabato in 1977.

The case was reportedly filed in 1981 but was archived after Manero and his three co-accused allegedly escaped from detention.

Manero said Friday that he was shocked to know of the pending case.

"I cannot understand why another case suddenly cropped up when I was already given a pardon by the government," he said. "I really cannot understand the situation."

He denied involvement in the Mamalumpong murder.

Manero added that contrary to published reports, he never hid from authorities nor did he change residence during the two months he was out of jail. He explained that he still lives in Diliman, Quezon City, although he has a pending request with the BPP to return to South Cotabato for good.

He also stressed that he never violated the conditions of his parole.

"I was never in hiding and I never planned to hide," he said. "I am already a reformed man."

After his surrender, Manero was arrested by the police who were given a copy of a 1981 warrant issued by the judge in the Mamalumpong case.

He was brought to General Santos City yesterday to be tried but his lawyer Ruben Platon said they will file a motion with the court today to nullify the arrest warrant.

Platon stressed that they believe the case will no longer prosper for lack of witnesses. He said that through the years, no one has come out to testify on the case and the judge who issued the warrant, incidentally, is now dead.

The BPP, though, is looking on the possibility of canceling Manero's parole on the basis of his non-disclosure of the pending case.