LOS ANGELES – The attorney representing ex-Philippine police officer Glenn Dumlao said that the accused double murder suspect is ready to go back to the Philippines to face criminal charges.
Los Angeles-based Attorney Morel Callueng said Dumlao will give a deposition on Monday, July 20 and should be extradited to the Philippines sometime within this month.
"Dumlao is doing fine," said Callueng about his client to the Asian Journal. "He’s been in jail the past eight months. He just wants closure to this case. He will cooperate fully in this deposition and once this deposition is taken we believe there will be no more obstacles to his extradition to the Philippines."
"We want to make it very clear that he does not oppose his extradition," added Callueng. "He wants to go back home."
Dumlao was set to be extradited to the Philippines earlier this year in March. However, a judge in New York granted Dumlao’s motion to stay.
Callueng said Dumlao will not fight this extradition.
Dumlao is accused of allegedly participating in the abduction and killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000. He fled to the US in 2003 and was arrested by US authorities last November. He has since been detained in the US.
Former colleague and fellow suspect Cezar Mancao was extradited last month. He has already turned state witness and is currently in the Philippine government’s witness protection program.
Corroboration
Callueng said he does not know if Dumlao will corroborate Mancao’s affidavit that implicates Senator Panfilo Lacson as the mastermind of the Dacer-Corbito double murder. Mancao’s affidavit in February points to Lacson as the person who ordered the killing of Dacer.
Lacson has denied any involvement in the double-murder case.
Callueng said Dumlao will re-affirm the affidavit he took on June 12, 2001.
"The main substance of his testimony will be contained in his affidavit on June 12, 2001," saidCallueng.
In his June 2001 affidavit, Dumlao said his superior Michael Ray Aquino ordered him to conduct surveillance on Dacer. He also mentioned that he received no direct instructions from Lacson but did write that Aquino was relaying orders supposedly from Lacson.
Aquino is currently serving six years in US federal prison for his role in an espionage case.
The three were top-ranked officers of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by former national police chief-turned-senator Lacson.
Callueng added that his client will fully cooperate with investigators and authorities regarding his role in the double-murder case.
Callueng said they have not discussed whether Dumlao will turn state witness. He added that Dumlao tried to turn state witness in 2003. However, the Philippine Supreme court turned it down because he was still an "active" member of the Philippine police force. n
( Published on July 18, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A1 )
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