FORMER Police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino declared his innocence about the 2000 murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito upon his arrival from the United States heavily escorted by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.
He did not talk to media but his lawyer read his statement which also said that he never got an order from former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Panfilo Lacson to harm Dacer and Corbito.
Aquino, then a ranking officer of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force , left the country with two other police officers- Cesar Mancao and Glen Dumlao, after they were implicated in the Dacer-Corbito murders following the ouster of Estrada from Malacañang.
Aquino was brought directly to the NBI detention center.
Aquino’s statement:
“Bago po ang lahat, gusto ko pong pasalamatan ang Poong Maykapal, ang aking pamilya at ang lahat ng taong tumulong at sumuporta sa akin for the ten most trying and challenging years of my life. You know who you are. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat.
“Lawyers who were assisting me in my pro se case in the United States advised me that I have strong grounds to appeal to the Supreme Court the decision of the United States Court of Appeals allowing my extradition to the Philippines. After consulting with my family, I have decided that it would be best to let the extradition process take its course. I sincerely believe that this is my opportunity to clear my name, prove my innocence and finally put to rest all speculations about me.
“Being falsely accused almost a decade ago for a crime I did not commit was not at all a surprise to me. What is tragic is that my family was not spared. My wife and son were regularly flagged down and harassed every time they left our home. Dumating pa yung panahon that my innocent son, young as he was then, began trembling, as if having anxiety or panic attacks, every time he saw uniformed police officers, and vehemently refused to go inside Camp Crame.
“At that particular point, I knew I had to make some very painful decisions in life. I sacrificed my career in exchange for freedom; uprooted my family and went on self-exile; and pursued other goals. I feared not the prosecution but the persecution, and for the safety and security of my family.
“I was interviewed by the media ten (10) years ago and I categorically denied any knowledge of, and participation and involvement in, the alleged Dacer-Corbito case. That’s the truth and nothing has changed since then. Then and now, I still maintain my innocence.
“Moreover, gusto ko pong malaman ng sambayanang Pilipino na wala pong utos sa akin si President Joseph Ejercito Estrada o si Senator Panfilo M. Lacson to kidnap, harm and/or murder anyone specifically Mr. Salvador Dacer and Mr. Emmanuel Corbito. Wala na po akong maidaragdag, dahil wala po akong karagdagang kaalaman.
“Finally, I would like reiterate to everyone that I am now ready to face my accusers and to prove my innocence. I just hope and fervently pray that this time around, my guaranteed Constitutional Rights to due process, to have an honest-to-goodness preliminary investigation, to a speedy and public trial, to have the compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in my favor, to present controverting evidence, to have the assistance of a counsel of my own choice, to enjoy my rights to remain silent, and to exhaust all available legal remedies would be respected and safe-guarded by the authorities concerned.
“Salamat po ng marami. Diyos ti agngina kanyayo amin. Daghang salamat sa inyong tanan.”
MICHAEL RAY AQUINO