A police official dragged into the killing of a Korean businessman last October said that he was duped and threatened by the prime suspect who is now under the custody of the Philippine National Police.
Supt. Raphael Dumlao, currently assigned at the Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, admitted to PNP chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa that he was able to talk with SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel before Jee Ick Joo was killed inside Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“Dumlao is being threatened by Sta. Isabel that he would be dragged into this. Tinatakot niya si Dumlao at ang kasamahan niya na sama-sama na sila,” Dela Rosa told reporters yesterday.
“He (Sta. Isabel) said that if they squealed, he told them that he knew where their houses are, and he knew their respective families,” he added.
Dumlao, leader of the group which took Jee last October 18 in Angeles City, has been placed under restrictive custody.
Senior Supt. Albert Ignatius Ferro said it was Dumlao who endorsed Sta. Isabel to the AIDG after being rejected at the Anti-Kidnapping Group.
Sta. Isabel was brought to the PNO Custodial Center in Camp Crame Friday night, joining two other policemen who accused him as the one who strangled the victim to death, according to AKG legal counsel Supt. Dennis Wagas.
Based on their investigation, Ferro said Sta. Isabel appeared to have duped the three other policemen into conducting operation against Jee by making it appear that it was a legitimate operation.
“The problem is that he (Sta. Isabel) used our mechanism to justify his alibi,” said Ferro.
He explained that Sta. Isabel used some of the protocols being used in running after a target of the AIDG operation to make it appear that it was a legitimate operation.
During a review, investigators found that part of Sta. Isabel’s plan was to get an arrest warrant and look for a safehouse. It was not clear if Sta. Isabel had an arrest warrant when he picked up the victim in his house.
Wagas said they are now conducting follow-up operation against the other suspects in the case, including a Korean who allegedly hired the services of Sta. Isabel to kill Jee and the retired cop and now a barangay captain who fled to Canada.
Dela Rosa said they are still trying to complete the picture of the case of Jee, including the question on whether or not Dumlao has something to do with the case.
“That is what he (Sta. Isabel) is saying now (that Dumlao is his boss). We will put all the pieces together, we will know the whole picture of that,” said dela Rosa.
A background check revealed that Sta. Isabel was formerly assigned at the anti-drugs unit of Northern Police District, Southern Police District, and the Quezon City Police District.
“He is already rich. He has a series of businesses and for a fact, he knows the law,” said Ferro. (AARON B. RECUENCO)