Lacson’s boys linked to Dacer case

Police investigators have reportedly cracked the investigation on the mysterious disappearances of public relations executive Salvador "Buddy" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito with three police officials formerly assigned to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) being tagged as the brains behind the case, sources in Camp Crame said yesterday.

Police sources, who asked not to be identified, said they have placed witnesses in the case under their protective custody.

The police sources said, however, that they are still looking into the possible involvement of former PAOCTF chief and now senatorial candidate, Panfilo Lacson, in the case.

The former PAOCTF officials being linked by witnesses to the abduction were identified as Senior Superintendents Michael Ray Aquino, Cesar Mancao and Superintendent Teofilo Vina. The three police officials are closely identified with Lacson, the sources said.

Vina, who is from Cavite, used to head PAOCTF-Visayas; Mancao was the former head of PAOCTF Luzon; while Aquino was the task force operations chief.

Camp Crame sources, quoting witnesses, claimed that Dacer and Corbito were snatched by Cebu-based PAOCTF operatives with the support of their counterparts from PAOCTF Luzon team.

The witnesses also disclosed that the Dacer "job" was highly "compartmentalized" that after the abduction, the victims were turned-over to the custody of another group.

At least four PAOCTF operatives from Cebu, three from Task Force Luzon, the witnesses claimed, were part of the "abducting party".

Two of these PAOCTF agents were earlier monitored casing Dacer’s office at the Manila Hotel. The presence of the two agents was recorded by a closed-circuit camera of the hotel.

Dacer was aboard a white Toyota Revo driven by Corbito when abducted by several armed men near the Manila-Makati City boundary late last year. Dacer was on his way to his Manila Hotel office to meet with former President Fidel Ramos.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation filed yesterday with the Department of Justice criminal charges against seven agents of the PAOCTF and three other unidentified men who were allegedly involved in the questionable raid in Parañaque City last year.

Charged were Inspector Wilson Pedido, Inspector Dionisio Bonoy, SPO4 Willy Nuas, PO3 Rocco Matic, PO3 Edmund Gacuti, SPO2 Gomercindo Cagnayo, and SPO1 Adelaido Celarco.

The NBI said it had decided to file charges of obstruction of justice, violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act and Malversation of Public Funds against the PAOCTF agents after they continued to ignore the bureau’s subpoenas.

According to the NBI, the charges filed against the PAOCTF agents, all members of Task Force Luzon, stem from a raid conducted at 3934 Marigold St., Sun Valley Subdivision on Nov. 21.

The NBI said the agents, armed with a search warrant issued by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Diosdado Peralta, swooped down on the house owned by a certain Wilson Sy Tan on the allegation that it was being used as a safehouse by a car theft gang.

According to the agents, their search of the house yielded negative results. However, the NBI later said it was evidence to show that the PAOCTF agents seized from the house three car license plates, a 9 mm Taurus pistol, 10 9 mm bullets two 9 mm magazines, 10 grams of shabu in five sachets and shabu sniffing paraphernalia.

This prompted the NBI to conduct an investigation into the incident and subpoenaed the seven PAOCTF agents. But the PAOCTF agents reportedly ignored the NBI’s invitation.