The return of Michael Ray Aquino

U.S. CA Apr 25 decision: Michael Ray Aquino petition denied

Related article: http://verafiles.org/front/us-court-junks-michael-ray-aquino%E2%80%99s-bid-to-stop-extradition/

The U.S. Court of Appeals denied Monday former Police Officer Michael Ray Aquino’s third appeal against the extradition requested by the Philippine government under Gloria Aquino in connection with the November 2000 murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito.

“The petition for rehearing filed by Apellant having been submitted to all judges who participated in the decision of this court, and to all the other available circuit judges in active service, and a majority of circuit judges of the circuit in regular active service not having voted for rehearing by the court en banc, the petition for rehearing is hereby DENIED,” the decision states signed by Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman.

The U.S. has 60 days to enforce the extradition. I suppose the National Bureau of Investigation would be coordinating with American authorities for the return of Aquino who left the Philippine in July 2001 knowing that the unelected government of Gloria Arroyo would make life difficult for them being identified with Sen. Panfilo Lacson, whom the Arroyos consider their number one tormentor.

The April 25 decision of the US Court of Appeals was in reply to the last ditch appeal of Aquino received last April 11 arguing that the Philippine Court of Appeals’ declaration that his former colleague, Cezar Mancao, was not a credible and trustworthy witness in the Dacer-Corbito double murder, was a news development in the case.

It will be recalled that the Philippine CA dismissed the case against Lacson after it declared Mancao’s latest testimony dragging Lacson into the murder case that happened during the last months of the Estrada administration when the senator was then the chief of the Philippine National Police and Aquino was in his staff.

In his arguments filed with U.S. courts, Aquino has consistently assailed the credibility of the evidence presented by the prosecution in the Philippine court. He cited the prosecution’s claim that “Dacer and Corbito were blindfolded, tied and strangled to death. Their bodies were placed on top of a pile of stray wood and rubber tires, doused with gasoline and burned. The fire lasted for a mere thirty minutes, as declared by the prosecution witness at the trial. Recovered at the scene were a few pieces of bones and metal dental implants.”

But Aquino, said the prosecution’s narration of the crime defies science as even “a closed environment of a crematorium requires, on average, several hours” to burn a human body.

He also cited a finding by the National Bureau of Investigation that the bones presented by the prosecution were animal remains.

With Aquino’s impending return, the NBI should come up with those so alleged “remains” of Dacer and Corbito.

I have tried inquiring about this a few months ago, and I was told it cannot be found.

Looks like this is another Vizconde massacre case.

There’s also another report that I would like to revisit. I recall a report quoting Fr. Gabriel Baldostamon, formerly a parish priest of the community where the Dacer’s daughters lived, overhearing a conversation between the Dacer’s daughters and Jose Almonte, national security adviser of President Fidel Ramos.

The conversation hinted of a different circumstances than the murder charges that were filed against Aquino,dragging Lacson in the process.

Fr. Baldostamon is now parish priest of St. Nikolai church in Linkoping, Sweden.