De Lima: Mancao photo in Phil Star is fake, meant to taunt authorities

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday pronounced as fake the photo of escaped murder suspect and former police officer Cezar Mancao II that he sent to the Philippine Star, which published it on the front page. The photo showed him at a local fastfood restaurant holding up the day's newspaper, purported proof that he is still in the Philippines.

De Lima told reporters the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) examined Mancao's photograph and concluded that it was digitally altered. "I just learned from the NBI that that picture is a fraud. It's photoshopped. It was subjected to technical examination by the NBI this morning," De Lima said. The controversial photo shows the fugitive clad in a white polo shirt and jeans, holding a May 9 issue of the Philippine Star, while inside a Jollibee restaurant. The photo was also examined by graphic designers and photographers of GMA News Online and all agreed that it appears to have been manipulated. In particular, the area around Mancao's elbow appears pixelated and sharply angled, indications of manipulation. De Lima said NBI agents took notice of how the people around him in the photo were acting. "Iyong supposedly nagla-line up sa food chain na iyon pero nakatalikod, wala man lang tumitingin sa kaniya. Siguro naman somehow may nakakakilala sa kaniya. He's a celebrity already," De Lima said. Mancao may have intended to throw the NBI off his trail with the fake photo. But he also seemed to be taunting the authorities with his brazenness. He has been giving media interviews freely, while eluding capture. Also, De Lima admitted being both "surprised" and "mad" at Mancao's actions. "Nagulat ako kanina. Nagalit na naman ako. Parang dinuduruan na kami niyan," De Lima said. "Iniinsulto kami ng todo-todo. Parang [pinapalabas na] napakainutil namin maghanap," she added. De Lima said they are still trying to determine whether it was only Mancao who was behind the "fake" photo, or members of the media had a hand in it. "[Maging] careful na rin ang media. Baka ginagamit na rin tayo para siya maging popular," she said. Reached by GMA News Online for comment, Philippine Star Associate Editor Marichu Villanueva said they received the photo through email. "At this point, neither The Star nor De Lima knows where the photo was taken. Nobody knows where the photo was taken. It was e-mailed to us and we did say we received the photo. We did not take the photo nor tamper with it," she said. Accessible but elusive Since his escape from the NBI's detention cell last week, Mancao has been granting media interviews, but remains elusive to authorities. Mancao earlier said he has not lost his trust in both the Department of Justice and the NBI, but said he was left with no choice because he was about to be transferred to the Manila City Jail on Thursday upon orders by a Manila court. He feared for his life if transferred to the jail. The transfer order was the result of the judge granting a request from Mancao's co-accused to have him transferred to the Manila City Jail. Mancao had also earlier criticized the DOJ's Witness Protection Program, saying it was riddled with corruption. — LBG/HS, GMA News