Mancao to De Lima: Lines are still open

MANILA, Philippines - Fugitive former police superintendent Cezar Mancao II said yesterday that he is willing to communicate if the government wants him to return to the fold of the law.

Mancao’s statement was in response to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s claim that she has totally lost contact with him.

“Has she given up on me? Is this how it goes? They just turn off the negotiations? I am open. Because of my training I know that my communication lines should be open,” he said as he urged De Lima to also open her lines.

The former police officer, who escaped last Thursday from his detention cell at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila, said he is glad the people in Compostela Valley are not turning their backs on him.

Mancao is running for board member of the province in Monday’s elections. He said he received feedback that his campaign is running smoothly even if he is in hiding.

“Maybe in due time I could really make a difference and serve the people there,” he said.

Mancao said De Lima’s declaration that there is no other option for him but to surrender is preposterous.

“He told journalists that he would not surrender and I don’t want to look like we are begging him. He insulted us by escaping. His only option now is to turn himself in,” De Lima said on Wednesday.

The former police officer said he and his lawyers had followed the process, yet it did not work in his favor, noting that the “judge was being pressured.”

“I followed the process so I won’t be sent there (Manila City Jail). They did not bring Michael Ray (Aquino) there, now why me? If I surrender, they will file an appeal for me to remain with the NBI. It’s useless because we have done that,” he said.

Mancao said his commitment case had been heard almost 12 times.

“I have told them that I don’t want to be sent there but they are persistent. They are treating me more than an accused. I am a witness.

“If I surrender they will put me behind bars again. I feel that I will die if they bring me to the city jail. So there’s no way I’m going back.” Earlier, Mancao assailed the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP), saying it is riddled with corruption.

De Lima challenged him to prove his claims.

In response, Mancao told The STAR yesterday that the best proof of the problems in the WPP are the witnesses themselves.