Dacer-Corbito murder suspect Aquino leaves NBI detention cell

(Updated 12:07 a.m., 20 November 2012) Former police colonel Michael Ray Aquino finally tasted freedom after he was released from the National Bureau of Investigation's detention cell in Manila Wednesday night. Aquino, who had been linked to the murders of PR man Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000, left the NBI premises at about 8:45 p.m., radio dzBB reported. He made no statement as he left the NBI compound. Earlier Wednesday, Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18's Judge Carolina Sison issued an order for his release. The one-page order did not explain why Aquino was being let go. Aquino's lawyer Napoleon Poblador told dzBB that they had filed a motion for dismissal on the case against Aquino. Aquino was a key official of the now-defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) along with Cezar Mancao II and Glenn Dumlao. While in the PAOCTF, Aquino served under former police chief and now Senator Panfilo Lacson. Lacson allegedly ordered the task force to commit the murders. Aquino, Mancao and Dumlao all fled to the United States following the killings. Mancao and Dumlao were extradited in 2009, while Aquino unsuccessfully sought to fight his extradition. His defeat at the US Court of Appeals in April 2011 paved the way for his extradition August 1 that same year. Aquino pleaded not guilty to the murder charges filed against him when he was arraigned at the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18. Prior to his extradition, while detained in New Jersey, Aquino executed an affidavit dated August 9, 2010, clearing Lacson of involvement in the Dacer-Corbito killings. The Court of Appeals ruled with finality that the Department of Justice had no probable cause against Lacson, while the Supreme Court upheld the CA ruling in June 2011. — Gian Geronimo/VS/DVM, GMA News