Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Director General Ricardo Blancaflor, former Department of Justice undersecretary, said Wednesday the defense legal team of former police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino filed a petition for habeas corpus before a United States (US) court, a move which he described as “dilatory tactic.”

This came after a US court’s granted the extradition of Aquino last week.

Blancaflor, who was still with the Task Force 211 which monitored Aquino’s case, said his legal defense filed a petition for habeas corpus over the weekend.

“We have monitored that his legal defense filed a petition for habeas corpus. We just don’t know if they filed it before the same court which granted the extradition or to another court,” he said.

He said Aquino’s legal defense team raised the same argument, including the political persecution issue.

“They raised the same arguments like political persecution and other things. But the court which granted the extradition of Aquino said the ground is not technical. The court said there is indeed a probable cause because there is enough evidence to warrant the granting of extradition,” he said.