Michael Ray pleads not guilty

MANILA, Philippines - Former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) operative Michael Ray Aquino yesterday pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in connection with the November 2000 killings of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

Aquino was arraigned at 8:30 a.m. before Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Judge Thelma Bunyi Medina.

Interviews were not allowed during the proceedings and the former police officer, who was extradited from the United States last June, was immediately taken back to his detention cell by his National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) escorts.

During an interview after the arraignment, Napoleon Poblador, Aquino’s defense lawyer, said his client entered a plea of not guilty, although “this is without prejudice to his pending motion for reinvestigation.”

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she expected the decision of Aquino to plead not guilty.

“It’s with the court already. It gives another basis for the ongoing reinvestigation of the DOJ,” De Lima said.

Poblador said they filed a motion for reinvestigation about two weeks ago on the ground that there was no probable cause to indict his client. He said the arraignment pushed through because it was mandatory. However, he said their motion for reinvestigation will still be reviewed by the court.

The preliminary conference was set for Sept. 7 and the pre-trial was slated for Sept. 14.

Poblador said their motion to continue Aquino’s detention at the NBI has not been resolved yet.

“The resolution on the motion for detention at the NBI is still pending. In fact, the other parties have not submitted their comments yet. In the meantime, he will be detained at the NBI,” he said.

The prosecution will present former senior superintendent Cesar Mancao and former police superintendent Glenn Dumlao, both of the defunct PAOCTF.

Poblador expressed confidence that the case against Aquino will be dismissed by the court and will not go to trial.

“It’s a motion to dismiss based on a demurer. This means that there is no proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. And the court is duty bound to dismiss the case which amounts to an acquittal,” he said, adding that his confidence came about after reading the records and testimonies of witnesses.

“Isn’t it that the Court of Appeals had said that he (Mancao) is completely unreliable as a witness. This means that all that he said under oath is not admissible and not reliable. So I don’t think the prosecution can get a conviction based only on the testimony of Mr. Mancao,” Poblador said.

He also expressed confidence that Dumlao’s testimony would not also be reliable because he had changed his testimony several times.

Department of Justice (DOJ) State Prosecutor Philip Kimpo, meanwhile, said the prosecution is not opposed to the continued stay of Aquino in the NBI.

“The prosecution is not objecting to Aquino’s stay at the NBI for safety. That’s what we are thinking about. This is a high-profile case. That’s the risk and danger. But as time passes, there might be some who would object to this,” he said, adding that the DOJ has no plan to make Aquino a state witness.

“There was no move from him. If ever, it must come from him. It is unethical if the prosecution would offer this to him. It must come from the accused,” Kimpo said, referring to the possibility of Aquino turning state witness.

Kimpo also reacted to Poblador’s statement that the defense will be using the argument of Lacson in his case, which was dismissed by the court, that Mancao was declared as an unreliable source.

He said Lacson’s case is not yet over since it has not been declared final by the Supreme Court. 

However, court records showed that the Supreme Court upheld the CA’s ruling last June based on a technicality.

The high court said that the Dacer family could no longer appeal the CA’s decision because the state, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, has decided to forgo its opportunity to file an appeal.

Kimpo also argued that Dumlao cleared only Lacson and not Aquino.

In fact, he said Dumlao stated in his testimony that it was Aquino who gave him the orders to conduct surveillance on Dacer at the Manila Hotel.

Kimpo said when Dacer was abducted, he was again ordered to conduct an interrogation. “So, everything’s in the hand of Dumlao. He was the one who implicated Michael Ray.”

He said Dumlao can still be subpoenaed to testify against Aquino. – Edu Punay