MANILA-- President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed former police officer Cezar Mancao II to the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Mancao was named as executive director V of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center of the DICT, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

"We are confident that Mr. Mancao’s professional credentials would contribute in cybercrime prevention in the country. We wish him good luck in his new assignment," Roque said in a statement.

According to the DICT website, the unit is in charge of the formulation of the national cybersecurity plan, establishment of the National Computer Emergency Response Team, and the facilitation of international cooperation on intelligence regarding cybersecurity matters.

Mancao was among those charged for the murder of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in Indang, Cavite in 2000.

A decision by a court turning down his bid to become a state witness in the double-murder case prompted him to escape from the National Bureau of Investigation custody. He feared for his life after learning that the court ordered his transfer to the Manila City Jail.

In 2015, while on the run, Mancao absolved Senator Panfilo Lacson and former President Joseph Estrada, admitting that he has no personal knowledge of their supposed involvement in the double murder case. He said he was just forced by the past administration to implicate them.

• Mancao: Lacson out to get me

Mancao surrendered to the police in 2017.

• Ex-cop in Dacer-Corbito case surrenders