Lawyer: No revival of Dacer-Corbito case vs. Michael Ray Aquino

He may be ordered to pay millions of dollars to the daughters of his alleged victim, but his murder case is unlikely to be revived.

A US court has ordered former Philippine police official Michael Ray Aquino to pay the daughters of slain publicist Salvador “Buddy” Dacer $4.2 million in damages. But according to his former lawyer, this development is unlikely to lead to the revival of the murder case, which has already been dismissed by a Manila court.

“Assuming it becomes final and executory, the decision does not mean that Aquino is criminally guilty for the double murder case,” lawyer Napoleon Poblador told GMA News Online by phone. “It does not automatically follow that he should be criminally liable in the case.”

He stressed that the murder case against Aquino has been dismissed by a Manila court in December 2012, adding that the only thing they are waiting for is the decision of the Court of Appeals on the petition for certiorari filed by the Department of Justice.

“Once a person is acquitted, a case can no longer be revived as that would be double jeopardy. That [US court] decision will not change the acquittal of Mr. Aquino. The prosecution failed to present evidence beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.

US District Court of Northern California Judge Willian Alsup ruled on January 22 that Aquino was responsible for coordinating the kidnapping, torture and murder of Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000.

The court also ordered the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to allow Aquino to enter the borders of the United States unless he pays the amount in full.

US case

In 2010, siblings Carina Dacer, Sabrina Dacer-Reyes, Amparo Dacer-Henson and Emily Dacer-Hungerford filed the case, citing the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Victim Protection Act, and sought for a $20 million compensatory damage and $100 million punitive damages.

Others named as respondents in the case were former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, former senator and now rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson, former BW president and chief executive officer Dante Tan, former Philippine Games and Amusement Corp. (PAGCOR) head and chief executive officer Reynaldo Butch Tenorio, former police Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, and former Chief Inspector Vicente Arnado.

The complainants reduced the amount to $60 million as only Aquino initially answered the suit.

Poblador explained that the evidence in a civil case like the one filed by the Dacer siblings in the US needs only “preponderance of evidence.”

“The quantum of evidence in a civil case is lower than a criminal case which needs proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” he said.

He added that the US court decision is void as there is problem with due process, noting that Aquino did not take part in the proceedings.

“The judgment is void for violating the right of Mr. Aquino to due process,” Poblador said.

Asked when he last talked with Aquino, Poblador said, “Over the holidays.”

Lacson, Mancao, Dumlao

Lacson refused to comment on the US court's decision on Aquino.

“I cannot speak for him. I’d rather not comment. Alam nyo the lawyer of the Dacer family is the same lawyer who keeps on hitting me. Whether I’m in the news or in the limelight lalabas at lalabas yan para siraan ako by way of articles or any narratives na ganoon modus operandi niya. I’d rather not comment or glorify mga pinaggagawa niya sa amin,” he told reporters.

Aquino was a key official of the now-defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by Lacson. He, together with Mancao and Dumlao, fled to the US following the Dacer-Corbito killings.

In May 2001, the DOJ filed murder charges against Dumlao and other PAOCTF men over the Dacer-Corbito killings. In September that year, Mancao and Aquino were added to the list of suspects. However, it was only in 2008 when the DOJ, then under the leadership of Raul Gonzalez, started extradition proceedings for Mancao, Dumlao, and Aquino.

Mancao and Dumlao were extradited in 2009, while Aquino decided to seek court action to fight his extradition. But after staying in the US for 10 years, he was finally extradited to the Philippines in June 2011.

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. — KBK, GMA News