US Embassy confirms arrest of Ping man in New York

The US Embassy in Manila confirmed yesterday the arrest of former police Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino who was nabbed by federal agents for violating US immigration laws.

Ruth Urry, second secretary of the public affairs section of the US Embassy, told The Star yesterday that Aquino had indeed been arrested for lack of valid documents to stay in the US after the Philippine government invalidated his Philippine passport.

"I can confirm he (Aquino) was arrested on violation of US immigration laws," Urry said.

Aquino was among the former police officials implicated in the kidnapping and killing of publicist Buddy Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2004.

Urry refused to elaborate on the details whether Aquino’s arrest was based on formal request by the Philippine government.

"I cannot comment on that," Urry pointed out.

Likewise, Urry could not say for now if the US Embassy has received formal requests from Philippine government authorities an official request for the extradition of Aquino back to Manila.

"I don’t have any information on that," Urry said.

A source at the Department of Foreign Affairs said they have not received any recommendation for extradition from the justice department.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police chief Director General Arturo Lomibao said police have no legal basis to hold Aquino, a protégé of Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Lomibao said Aquino has been dropped from the police roster for being absent without official leave (AWOL) in 2001, ending his administrative liability to the PNP.

"We will just check with the court the status of their cases," Lomibao told reporters following the PNP Academy graduation rites in Camp Casteñeda in Silang, Cavite yesterday.

Aquino and another Lacson protégé Senior Superintendent Cesar Mancao III fled to the US in July 2001 for fear that they would be linked to the bloody Malacañang siege on May 1, 2001.

Aquino and Lacson had been implicated to the Dacer-Corbito slays although no formal charges have been filed against them.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has long been coordinating with its US counterpart Federal Bureau of Investigation to locate the two, who allegedly used falsified documents to get visas for their stay in the US.

The NBI learned that Aquino managed to study nursing while Mancao worked as a security guard in San Francisco using fake documents.

It was gathered that after the May 2004 presidential elections, Mancao returned to the country, in Zamboanga, in an effort to seek an "arrangement" with the administration. However, the arrangement did not push through forcing him to return to the US.

In another development, NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said yesterday he would provide the Supreme Court (SC) with information on the arrest of Aquino.

Wycoco affirmed an initial report given by Interpol chief Ricardo Diaz that the US authorities have Aquino in custody.

"As of yesterday, Aquino is still detained at the US Immigration Service Office (IMO) in New York. He was arrested by joint US IMO and FBI. So it is not true that he was released," Wycoco said.

However, he also admitted that although Aquino is currently being held in US custody there is no assurance that he would remain in detention once he is deported to the Philippines.

They are still waiting for the SC to issue a resolution on a DOJ appeal to reverse the decision of a lower court, which earlier denied a request to turn Inspector Glenn Dumlao into a state witness. The Manila City court refused on the basis that he was not the least guilty of the suspects in the twin slays.

Only after the SC issues a resolution for the inclusion of Dumlao as a state witness can the Manila court issue a warrant against Aquino.

"We cannot tell the SC to hurry up. They also have their own schedule, but we can mention to the SC the progress of the case and they can use this information for whatever purpose it may serve," Wycoco explained.

The NBI said there are no pending warrants of arrests against Aquino.

"We will be sending a reply letter to the FBI because they asked us if there is a warrant for his arrest and if there are pending cases against him. We will say yes, there are pending case, but there are no warrants," he said.

Aquino was reportedly arrested as he was processing the change of his nationality.

"I think he was applying for a green card. He is an undocumented alien because when he left the country four years ago, the Bureau of Immigration cancelled their travel documents," Wycoco said.

The NBI has no information on how long US Immigration can keep Aquino in custody.

"The FBI just said there is a possible prompt deportation. We cannot influence them," he said. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan