A police colonel tagged in the kidnap-slay of South Korean executive Jee Ick Joo last year has left Camp Crame in Quezon City where he was supposed to be under restrictive custody.
Reports said Supt. Rafael Dumlao took a taxicab out of the police headquarters at midnight yesterday, hours after appearing at the Senate committee hearing.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa ordered his men to look for Dumlao.
“We just want to have him under our custody and ensure that he is alive because he might end up dead because their syndicate is big,” said Dela Rosa.
The PNP chief, however, conceded that the PNP has no legal basis to hold Dumlao.
What they have, according to Dela Rosa, is an administrative authority over Dumlao who could be charged administratively for grave misconduct under AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) or Insubordination.
Penalty for grave misconduct includes dismissal from service.
Dela Rosa said he is confident that Dumlao will not be able to leave the country as he is under the lookout bulletin of the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Earlier, members of the Anti-Kidnapping Group tried to serve an arrest warrant against Dumlao, but the police officer, who is a lawyer, questioned the warrant because only a certain “Sir Dumlao’ is in the arrest warrant.
Supt. Enrico Rigor, legal officer of the AIDG, said Dumlao was no longer under their custody and was turned over to the Headquarters Support Service (HSS) after he was kicked out of the unit last week.
“So the custody is already with the HSS. Supposedly, you cannot leave the camp without asking permission from proper authorities here,” said Rigor.
Dumlao is being tagged as among those responsible for the kidnapping of Jee in Angeles City in October last year.
The Korean executive was later killed inside Camp Crame and the suspects were able to collect P5 million from his wife as ransom money two weeks after the murder.
SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel was accused of strangling Jee to death by co-accused SPO4 Roy Villegas.
Sta. Isabel denied the charge and pointed to Dumlao as the mastermind. (AARON B. RECUENCO)
