SC junks fugitive cop’s petition for injunction

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court Second Division has dismissed the petition for injunction and temporary restraining order of former police lieutenant colonel Rafael Dumlao III in connection with the kidnapping and murder of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo in 2016.

According to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the high court cited Dumlao’s failure to show grave abuse of discretion.

The court also junked the former official’s petition for review on certiorari for lack of substantial grounds.

Dumlao has been in hiding after the Court of Appeals found him guilty in Jee’s kidnapping and killing. He was released from the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center in Quezon City after a Pampanga Regional Trial Court acquitted him in 2019, a decision the CA reversed in June 2024.

Manhunt operations against Dumlao have intensified based on the directive of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who is also the PAOCC chairman, in May.

In response to Bersamin’s order, the PNP has formed tracker teams to hunt down Dumlao. The government also put up a bounty of P1 million for any information that would lead to the fugitive’s arrest.

PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz said in a message on Viber that they have not received any surrender feeler from Dumlao.

Cruz assured the public they are exerting all efforts to locate and arrest Dumlao.

“This is part of our commitment to the victim’s family, to our partners at the Korean embassy and to upholding the integrity of our justice system,” Cruz said in a statement.