Lacson: No Operation Delta

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday denied the existence of “Operation Delta,” a covert operation supposedly designed to silence publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer in November 2000.

Lacson said the testimony given by his former subordinate, police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II, was not based on factual evidence but merely opinions.

“I don’t know that. It’s the first time I’ve heard of Operation Delta. I do not know about Operation Delta that Mancao is saying,” Lacson said.

Mancao’s testimony on Thursday tagged Lacson and former President Joseph Estrada as being behind the murder of Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Mancao testified in open court tagging the two personalities among six people in the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) that carried out Operation Delta.

Mancao also named former senior police officials Michael Ray Aquino, Teofilo Viña, Vicente Arnado and Glenn Dumlao as having taken part in Operation Delta.

Estrada denied knowing the details of Operation Delta, and pointed to Lacson as the one who supposedly knew of the operation.

Estrada said Lacson, then the PAOCTF chief, should have been informed of any operations carried out by the anti-crime unit.

Lacson, however, pointed out that Mancao’s testimony is full of factual errors.

“His (Mancao’s) testimony was only based on his opinion, not on facts. Mancao did not even specify if PJEE (Estrada’s acronym) was directly involved, myself, and the other people that he mentioned in his testimony. Mancao did not even specify the role I played in the supposed operation. It was too opinionated and not based on actual facts,” Lacson told a radio interview.

Cut out

According to Lacson, he was apparently bypassed during the supposed PAOCTF operations.

Lacson claimed he had information from the camp of Dumlao and Aquino that revealed both PAOCTF officials confronted Mancao over the alleged special operation.

Lacson said his source quoted Mancao as saying in Filipino that “this already had Malacañang’s approval.” Estrada was still President when the conversation occurred.

When Aquino was asked by his men, he reportedly replied that it was up to Malacañang to inform the PAOCTF chief (Lacson), the source supposedly told the senator.

“So it was clear that I was not informed of the operation. They confronted Aquino and they asked if I know the operation. Why is it that Malacañang was supposed to inform me of the existence of this operation? At that point, there is something wrong in the testimony of Mancao,” he said.

Lacson said he understands the pressure that Mancao could be experiencing to be able to get out of the mess.

Lacson declared Mancao is being used by the present administration to pin him down.

Estrada also branded Mancao as Malacañang’s tool to pin down the opposition.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, on the other hand, called on Malacañang to mind its own business and leave opposition matters to the opposition.

Binay said the Palace should refrain from making sarcastic comments on every development involving the opposition.

Nothing new

Even after Mancao implicated Estrada in the murders, the Dacer family is still not interested in indicting the former president in the case.

Dacer family lawyer Demetrio Custodio said the family remained unconvinced of the testimony given by Mancao linking Estrada to the murders.

“He (Mancao) just reiterated his earlier testimony which he discussed personally with our clients (Dacer siblings) when they met in the US. And according to one of our lawyers sent to the hearing last Thursday, (Mancao) stated nothing outside his affidavit,” Custodio said.

Custodio said there is nothing in Mancao’s testimony that could directly implicate Estrada in Operation Delta.

“He merely mentioned (Erap) Estrada in connection to their operational procedures in the PAOCTF,” he said.

Malacañang, on the other hand, warned Estrada and Lacson that they cannot invoke their status as opposition leaders in an attempt to evade allegations of their involvement in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Estrada and Lacson couldn’t enjoy possible protection from prosecution in invoking their status as opposition personalities.

“We would like to believe that the law should be applied equally to all, otherwise as (Manila) Mayor (Alfredo) Lim said, none at all,” Remonde said.

Remonde said Estrada and Lacson “are only being consistent with their denials and that is expected of them.”

“We can also be consistent in denying any hand in the testimony of Mancao,” Remonde remarked.

“I think he does not need our help in order to articulate his own independence on the matter,” he said.

 ‘Chilling effect’

Remonde added the latest killing of a key witness in the case would have a “chilling effect” on those who may want to testify.

“The killing of any person is a cause for concern. The fact that the recent victim of murder was witness to the biggest case of the time, which is the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, will indeed have a chilling effect on other witnesses,” Remonde said.

Remonde said the murder of witness Jimmy Lopez is a serious public concern.

“Not only for the Palace but all those who believe in justice, including even the accused in this case,” he said.

Lopez, a former civilian agent of the PAOCTF, and a female companion were killed inside his home in Indang, Cavite last Wednesday.

Lopez was supposed to appear as a witness to corroborate his own testimony that he helped hide Dacer and Corbito before they were garroted and burned on the night of Nov. 24, 2000. The charred bodies were buried in a shallow grave.

Lopez is reportedly the second witness in the celebrated case to be killed after the murder of PAOCTF official police senior superintendent Viña in 2003.

Malacañang had denounced the killing of Lopez, which, according to deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez, “shows the depths to which the masterminds of this dastardly deed are willing to go to crush the truth and escape their just punishment.”

Golez said President Arroyo has directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to dig deeper into the killing of Lopez and his female companion, initially identified as a certain Nicole.

Police said their initial investigation is swaying more to the supposed drug peddling activities of Lopez.

According to Calabarzon police director Chief Superintendent Perfecto Palad, Lopez was listed in the illegal drugs watch list of Cavite.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also disclosed the possibility that the Lopez murder was drug-related.

A police special task force has been created to investigate the killing of Lopez. –With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Non Alquitran, Evelyn Macairan, Jose Rodel Clapano