Back in RP, Glenn Dumlao ready to face ‘root of problem’

Former police Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, one of the three police officers linked to the November 2000 abduction and slay of publicist Salvador “Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito, is ready to confront what he said was the root of the problems that have been haunting him. “Masaya ako’t nakauwi… at mahaharap ko na rin squarely ‘yong kaso. Ito naman talaga ang root ng problem na nagha-hound sa akin ever since, so why not face it now? I could finally confront my problems," he said in an exclusive interview on dzBB radio on Sunday. (I am happy to come home because I can finally face my case squarely. This is the root of my problem that had hounded me ever since, so why not face it now. I could finally confront my problems.) During the interview, Dumlao was still on the Philippine Airlines PR Flight 103 that touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 3:41 a.m. Sunday. Dumlao returned to the country six years after he fled to the Uniteld States in May 2003. He was accompanied by his lawyer Morell Callueng, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Interpol Division chief Claro de Castro Jr. and Special Task Force chief Arnel Dalumpines during his flight from Los Angeles, California. The NAIA was under heavy security by operatives from the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP). Dumlao was then taken to the NBI headquarters in Manila. He is placed under the bureau's custody, like his former colleague, former police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II, who returned to the Philippines last June 4, 2009. In the radio interview, Dumlao said he was hoping to see his family soon. “Wala akong kasama na pamilya ever since nagpunta ako ng Amerika. Siguro naman mayroong rights of visitation, but that would take a month or so, of course with the approval of the DOJ [Department of Justice] and down to the line," he said. (My family members were not with me when I went to the US. I guess there are rights of visitation here in the Philippines, but that would take a month or so, of course with the approval of the DOJ and down the line.) Dacer-Corbito double murder case Dumlao and Mancao, along with former Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, were key officers of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by then PNP chief and now Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who has since denied having any role in Dacer and Corbito’s deaths. Dumlao is expected to testify at the reopening of the case on the deaths of Dacer and Corbito, who were killed on Nov. 24, 2000 by alleged PAOCTF members. With Dumlao’s arrival, only Aquino is facing extradition proceedings in the US. Aquino is known to be Lacson’s protégé. Dumlao had executed three affidavits on the Dacer-Corbito killings. In June 2001, he implicated a government official codenamed “71" as the mastermind behind the murder. The codename is being ascribed to Lacson, a member of the Philippine Military Academy batch 1971. The affidavit likewise mentioned that a "special operation" to finish off Dacer had the nod of Malacañang, or the office of then President Joseph Estrada. Estrada has repeatedly denied having a hand in the twin killings. But in his last two affidavits in May 2003 and March 2007, Dumlao exonerated Lacson. He claimed he was pressured and tortured by officials from the Arroyo administration to link Lacson to the crime. Last month, then Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said he was confident that Dumlao would affirm his 2001 statement and divulge everything he knew about the case based on the first affidavit. Lacson, for his part, claims Dumlao's return does not alarm him. “Mas gusto ko pa ngang makabalik si Dumlao para talagang lumiwanag ang kaso (In fact I like Dumlao to return so he could shed light on the case)," he said during an interview with GMA News’ Unang Hirit last Thursday. High-risk detainee On Sunday, GMA News’ Jiggy Manicad reported on dzBB that US Marshals considered Dumlao as a high-risk prisoner over his alleged involvement in the Dacer-Corbito case. Manicad quoted Dumlao as saying that he was detained at a “bartolina" or a solitary confinement cell “24 hours a day, seven days a week." Manicad, who covered Dumlao’s flight from Los Angeles, said that the former police officer refused to divulge the details of his deposition in Aquino’s extradition case. Tight security So tight were the security arrangements for Dumlao that he was brought into NBI headquarters through its United Nations Avenue gate instead of the main gate along Taft Avenue. Media representatives were not allowed to interview Dumlao upon his arrival. NBI Intelligence division chief lawyer Romulo Asis said they will strictly limit the visitors for Dumlao. Asis said family and friends who wish to visit Dumlao will have to undergo clearance, with the NBI asking Dumlao if he knows the potential visitor and if he will allow the visit. For his part, Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said the Department of Justice would ask for a list of visitors authorized by Dumlao. - GMANews.TV