PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has offered a P5-million bounty for the arrest, dead or alive, of Supt. Rafael Dumlao, one of the suspects in the kidnapping and killing of a Korean businessman who turned out to be in custody on Sunday afternoon.
Duterte, who was fuming mad during a national address on Sunday night, gave Dumlao 24 hours to surrender for “putting the reputation of the police in shambles.”
He was later informed by PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa that Dumlao surrendered early Sunday morning.
Duterte made his statement even as the Angeles City regional trial court ordered the Justice department to reinvestigate the kidnapping and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo in October last year.
Judge Irineo Pangilinan Jr. ordered the department to conduct another preliminary investigation on the charges of kidnapping for ransom with homicide against Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Santa Isabel and other police officers tagged in the case.
The lower court granted the appeal of Santa Isabel questioning his indictment by the department despite his lack of opportunity to submit his answer to the charges during a preliminary investigation.
Said Duterte: “If you do not come out soon, I will offer dead or alive, ikaw mismo Dumlao, P5 million. Dead of alive. You deliver him to me dead, okay ako. Dalhin mo dyan sa gate ng Malacañang patay, buhay, okay sa akin. Dead or alive.
“This Dumlao, you better surrender or clear yourself. If you didn’t commit anything wrong, why did you leave Camp Crame?
“’Pag hindi ka lumabas, patungan kita ng 5 million. I’m giving you exactly 24 hours pag hindi that reward goes into effect.”
Later, Dela Rosa was seen whispering to the President that Dumlao was already in custody.
“Latest story. He’s already in our custody. Better, Dumlao. You’re even a lawyer. Sayang, mabiyuda ‘yang asawa mo, pati ‘yung anak mo mawalan ng tatay,” Duterte said.
Dumlao, the immediate superior of AIDG operative Santa Isabel, who is accused of masterminding the murder of Jee, left restrictive custody Friday even but was not allowed to.
When Dela Rosa was being asked why the President was informed late about Dumlao’s surrender, Duterte interjected, claiming that he only met with Dela Rosa during the early morning press conference.
“We only met now… He’s not present there,” Duterte said referring to the command conference which preceded the press briefing.
Duterte dodged any blame for Dela Rosa even if the photos sent by the Palace to reporters showed the President tagging along with Dela Rosa as he started to preside over the joint Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police Command Conference at the Heroes’ Hall in Malacañang.
“Maybe he’s with his girlfriend, I don’t know,” the President claimed, referring to Dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa said that Dumlao informed Anti-Kidnapping Group chief Glenn Dumlao, whose leading the PNP’s investigation on the kidnap-slay of his knowledge about the whole incident before Sunday’s command conference.
“[Superintendent Dumlao] called up Colonel Dumlao, the one investigating the case, Colonel Glenn Dumlao of AKG, that he is willing to tell all,” he said.
“And true enough, when I arrived … he told us the whole picture of what happened during the crime, who were his cohorts and why the Korean was targeted, and their motive.”
While Dela Rosa answered in the affirmative that the Korean kidnap-slay case greatly affected the credibility of the administration’s anti-drug campaign, Duterte once again interjected, admitting that he was pissed off because the police placed him in a position of great shame.
“I’m mad because even me, I’m placed in great shame,” the President said as he defended his position of keeping Dela Rosa in his post.