Syndicate eyed in Korean’s slay – Bato

MANILA, Philippines – A big syndicate might be behind the kidnap-slay of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo, police Director General Ronald dela Rosa said yesterday.

“This is a big group and maybe this is not the first time they have done this,” said Dela Rosa, the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, in a chanced interview at Camp Crame.

But even before any investigation on the case could be concluded, it has grown political with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II saying the controversy is being used to destabilize the administration of President Duterte.

“That is one of the theories... That’s why we need to dig deeper and conduct deeper investigation,” Aguirre told reporters at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In probing the case further, Dela Rosa said it is important to keep Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, prime suspect in Jee’s murder, under their custody as the syndicate could kill the policeman to prevent him from revealing all the details about the Korean’s kidnapping and murder, including the other people involved.

The Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 58 issued warrants of arrest against Sta. Isabel and Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Villegas on Friday. They were presented to the court yesterday to prove the warrant has been served, said PNP anti-kidnapping group (AKG) chief Senior Supt. Glenn Dumlao.

Although Supt. Rafael Dumlao III – Sta. Isabel’s team leader at the

PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) – was also implicated in the crime, a warrant has yet to be issued pending the court’s approval to have him included in the case. Prosecutors argued that he was the suspect who was initially identified only as “Sir Dumlao.”

“(Sta. Isabel) is under threat. He cannot be transferred to a jail in Angeles City. We need to (ask the court) for him to be detained here at Camp Crame,” Dela Rosa said in a radio interview over dzMM.

He also ordered verification of a lead that some members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), including one who introduced himself as an agent and a certain “Jerry” who is said to be the driver of an NBI director, were involved in Jee’s kidnapping on Oct. 18, 2016 in Angeles City, Pampanga.

This is aside from checking on a tip that several policemen assigned to other PNP units, aside from AKG and AIDG, also participated in the crime.

Dela Rosa offered to resign as PNP chief on Saturday in response to calls for his resignation from critics who were appalled that Jee’s murder happened inside Crame, the PNP’s main headquarters.

President Duterte rejected his proposal and asked him to stay put.

Senior Supt. Albert Ignatius Ferro, AIDG director, also offered his resignation out of delicadeza.

“The President answered, ‘Why, is it your fault? You have a lot of accomplishments. Just continue with your work’,” Dela Rosa quoted Duterte as telling Ferro.

Justice chief Aguirre believes that Duterte’s political opponents are taking advantage of the issue to attack the government’s war on drugs, a key platform of the administration.

“The thrust of the Duterte administration is really this war on drugs and it is symbolized by our police force led by Gen. ‘Bato’ dela Rosa. If you want to destabilize the (government), you really have to destroy first the PNP and Gen. Bato,” Aguirre stressed.

He said President Duterte was right in rejecting calls for resignation or replacement of the PNP chief “because there is no evidence that the PNP is protecting these scalawags.”

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, he added, already took back his call for dela Rosa’s resignation, explaining that it was only a “spur of the moment” statement.

Aguirre believes that more ranking PNP officials are involved in Jee’s case, as he cited CCTV footage that showed Rafael Dumlao and Senior Supt. Allan Macapagal of the AKG visiting Sta. Isabel’s house in Pampanga.

“There are really questions that compel us to conduct a more thorough and deeper investigation,” he explained.

Aguirre also ordered an investigation into the involvement of some NBI men, saying, “I was already informed about it and, as I said earlier, we have zero tolerance for corruption in our backyard here in the DOJ.”

His office issued an extremely urgent memorandum placing Sta. Isabel, Villegas, Police Officer 2 Christopher Baldovino, Ramon Yalung and four other people identified only under the aliases “Pulis,” “Jerry,” “Sir Dumlao” and “Ding” in a lookout bulletin order.

Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Ma. Antonette Mangroban said the DOJ would be immediately informed should any of them be seen in airports or seaports.

Manila has apologized to Seoul for Jee’s killing and vowed to use the full force of the law to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“We wish to take this occasion to express the condolences and sympathies of President Duterte to Mrs. Choi Hyeung-jin, the widow of Mr. Ick-joo Jee, the South Korean national who met untimely death while in police custody,” said Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella in a press briefing at Malacañang yesterday.

“We apologize to the South Korean government and people for this irreparable loss. But we commit the full force of the law to ensure that justice is served and not delayed. To the Korean people, please accept our sincerest and deepest regrets,” Abella added.

The South Korean Embassy has asked Philippine authorities to investigate as it expressed concern over the safety of more than 90,000 Koreans in the country.

Abella said Jee’s kidnapping and murder reflected corruption in the system.

“Let’s just go back to the President’s campaign theme: To stop crime, corruption and illegal drugs… This particular situation indicates that there is truly a depth of corruption within the government system,” he said.

Asked to react to notions that Dela Rosa is untouchable, Abella said: “No, I think we need to see it in a larger light. The PNP Director General is part of the President’s team and he simply came home and he simply became the head of this particular government structure.”

Abella kept mum on Aguirre’s statement that the killing of Jee was part of a conspiracy to discredit the PNP and the Duterte administration, but described as “over imaginative” Sen. Leila de Lima’s claim that Duterte and dela Rosa were the ones who created the culture of impunity among the police ranks. – With Edu Punay, Evelyn Macairan, Alexis Romero