US starts deportation proceedings vs Aquino — NBI

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday the US government has started the deportation proceedings against dismissed Police Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, who was earlier arrested in New York City for violating immigration laws.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the US Department of Homeland Security reportedly began processing the deportation papers of Aquino, an official of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).

"The deportation proceedings could take one day to one week. We cannot give a definite date since the process could take longer if there is a contested deportation," Wycoco said.

The NBI said it does not know if Aquino has contested the deportation.

Meanwhile, NBI Interpol chief Ricardo Diaz said he received a text message from Kevin Peters, head of the US Department Homeland Security in Manila yesterday morning.

Peters issued a clarificatory statement on the official name of their office and the agencies involved in the arrest.

"Just so that facts are correct for the papers, there is no US Immigration Service. There is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The arrest of Aquino was a not a joint op with the FBI. It was done by ICE," the message read.

The US official also informed the NBI that Aquino was arrested on March 7 while obtaining a work permit at the Federal Plaza in New York City.

Aquino’s travel documents were cancelled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in 2001 and had been classified as an undocumented alien.

He was among a group of former police officials implicated in the kidnapping and killing of publicist Buddy Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2004, although no formal charges have been filed against them.

It is also unlikely that he would be detained once he arrives in the Philippines.

The NBI said there are no pending warrants of arrests against the former PAOCTF official.

The bureau is currently waiting for the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a resolution on a Department of Justice appeal to reverse the decision of a lower court, which earlier dismissed a request to turn twin-slay suspect Inspector Glenn Dumlao as a state witness.

The Manila court has refused, saying he is not the least guilty of all the suspects.

It is only after the SC issues a resolution favoring the inclusion of Dumlao as state witness, can the Manila court issue a warrant against Aquino.