Editorial

Anticipation

Cesar Mancao has not yet set foot in the country but everybody is already talking about?and awaiting?his homecoming. A sworn statement executed in Florida last month, now tucked away at some bank vault here, according to the Justice secretary, precedes the former police official?s arrival and promises juicy revelations on the double murder of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, nine years ago.

Still, if the sworn statement were to hold, Mancao would have to affirm it upon his return, sometime in the next few weeks, we are told. The suspense may just be killing some people, in varying degrees, especially since old associations are being pointed out with gusto.

All these portend another circus.

According to Mancao?s wife, Maricar, the family is ?happy, relieved and afraid? at his decision to stop fighting his extradition and tell all he knows. She says some powerful people are going to be hurt by Mancao?s revelations and that her husband was also a victim, dragged into the deed because of his line of work. That in itself speaks volumes?but let?s wait for the affidavit

It is difficult to imagine this episode not taking on a political color, as Maricar would have wished. Already, Senator Panfilo Lacson, one of the administration?s most rabid critics, has taken a defensive stance, accusing the Palace of pressuring Mancao to make the statement to pin him down. On the other hand, the daughters of the murdered publicist have denied striking any deals with Malaca?ang.

And indeed politics distorts the most airtight of cases, making them weaker. Credible individuals are made less sincere. Conversely, fabrications may sound convincing and anybody can proclaim himself star witness. People cannot trust what they hear and see at face value. There are versions of the truth and levels of motives that must be figured out to get the real picture, or its closest approximation.

In the case of the Dacer-Corbito slay, what?s really worth awaiting, by the public and especially by the families of the deceased, is the part after the revelation and the ensuing fanfare. Assuming, of course, Mancao does not spoil the surprise and retract his statement.

Many issues have sparked public interest and outrage in the past. Few ever lived up to the anticipation and the attention. We hope this one is a real breakthrough in the murder puzzle.