Director General Ronald dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has personally confronted Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel regarding the controversial kidnap-slay of ex-Handjin executive Jee Ick-joo.
But dela Rosa said all he heard from Sta. Isabel was alibi as he expressed his disappointment of failing to get the truth from the person who is being tagged as the main suspect in the killing of the South Korean business executive last year.
“I told him to go direct to the point, to tell the truth. He told his story but I was not satisfied because it was all self-defense, all alibi,” said Dela Rosa.
Sta. Isabel was detained at the PNP Custodial Center since his turnover on Friday.
On Sunday morning, Dela Rosa personally talked to him in an attempt to shed light on the incident which caused embarrassment to the PNP and outpour of calls for resignation of the PNP Chief after it turned out that Jee was strangled to death allegedly by Sta. Isabel right inside Camp Crame.
“But still I accepted what he said. I asked for investigation of everything that he said,” said Dela Rosa.
So far, the highest ranking official being implicated into the kidnap-slay with ransom case was Supt. Raphael Dumlao, the team leader of Sta. Isabel at the Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG).
Sta. Isabel earlier accused Dumlao as the brains behind the Jee kidnap-slay with ransom case but Dela Rosa himself said that the former used the operational protocol in the AIDG to dupe his fellow cop into believing that Jee is a wanted criminal.
Jee was killed on the day of his abduction on October 18 last year. His captors demanded R5 million ransom on October 30 and the ransom was paid the following day. The captors then demanded additional R4.5 million but the money was not paid.
NAGMAMALINIS
Dela Rosa also hit Dumlao for repeatedly stressing his innocence on the Jee kidnapping case, saying there are enough proof that he knew all about Jee.
“He is not around? He was there when he (Korean was killed). They (Dumlao and Sta. Isabel) had a talk, actually three times,” said Dela Rosa.
The first conversation was at the parking lot near the grandstand inside Camp Crame, followed by another conversation at the Training Service building and the last was at the jogging lane also in front of the PNP grandstand.
“Pa-English English pa kung interbyuhin. Kunwari walang alam, kunwari matino. Pa-smile smile pa,” said Dela Rosa of Dumlao.
WIFE TO BE PROBED
Dela Rosa said they are also considering placing the wife of Sta. Isabel, Jinky, under investigation after the latter held a press conference to clear her husband.
AIDG director Senior Supt. Albert Ignatius Ferro earlier disclosed that Sta. Isabel is a wealthy policeman.
It was learned that Sta. Isabel owns two branches of a popular money remittance company and several businesses.
Dela Rosa said they are not discounting the possibility that the family of Sta. Isabel may have already started disposing of their properties in anticipation of financial investigation. (AARON B. RECUENCO)