Ex-PNP AIDG head denies involvement in Jee kidnap-slay case

Former PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group-Pampanga (AIDG) head Superintendent Rafael Dumlao III on Tuesday refuted his alleged involvement in the kidnap-slay of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo. (Photo: PDP Laban Tarlac Provincial Council/Facebook)

MANILA—Former PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group-Pampanga (AIDG) head Superintendent Rafael Dumlao III on Tuesday refuted his alleged involvement in the kidnap-slay of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.

Dumlao made the statement in his submitted counter-affidavit during the continuation of reinvestigation of the case

In his 13-page counter-affidavit, Dumlao denied the allegations of other respondents SPO2 Ricky Sta. Isabel, Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Villegas and Jerry Omlang, who tagged him as the mastermind in Jee’s abduction and killing last October.

“The testimony of witnesses and records of the investigation have no showing that I performed any overt act that would make me liable for the crime of kidnapping for ransom and illegal detention with homicide. It is crystal clear that I was never present in the kidnapping and/or detention of the victims, including the event of his eventual demise,” Dumlao said in his counter-affidavit.

With this, he asked the DOJ to dismiss the charges against him, citing inconsistencies in the statements of Sta. Isable, Villegas and Omlang.

Dumlao also said in his counter-affidavit that he implicated the three NBI officials in the case namely former NBI deputy director for investigation services Jose “Jojo” Yap; former National Capital Region (NCR) director Ricardo Diaz and former Task Force against Illegal Drugs head Roel Bolivar – in his previous affidavit because he recalled Sta. Isabel dropping their names as those behind the operation on Jee.

The other respondents – Gream funeral employees Epephany Gotera, Teodolito Macato Tarepe, Kevin Enriquez, Robert John Tobias and Bernardo Maraya -also submitted their counter-affidavits and denied knowledge and participation in the kidnapping and killing of the Korean businessman.

The DOJ panel composed of Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Juan Pedro Navera and Olivia Torrevillas, who handle the re-investigation on the kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention with homicide case received the counter-affidavits.

The panel of prosecutors directed the three NBI officials who were implicated in the Jee Ick Joo kidnap-slay case to submit their counter affidavits on Friday.

To recall, the Jan. 17 resolution penned by Torrevillas only named three accused in the kidnapping for ransom with homicide case: Sta. Isabel, Villegas and Yalung while other suspects tagged in the case were identified only through aliases “Pulis,” “Ding,” “Jerry,” and “Sir Dumlao.”

The resolution was received by the Pampanga Regional Trial Court Branch 58. The local court granted primary suspect Sta. Isabel’s request for reinvestigation.

RTC Judge Pangilinan gave the DOJ 60 days “to conduct the reinvestigation and to submit the resolution.”

The court also reset the arraignment of the accused to April 19.