THE Philippine National Police ordered on Saturday a manhunt against Supt. Rafael Dumlao, who disobeyed the order of Director General Ronald dela Rosa and bolted restrictive custody over his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Korean executive Jee Ick Joo.
Dela Rosa directed tracker teams to locate Dumlao who left Camp Crame while being investigated on his role in the death of Jee, who was strangled inside Camp Crame on the eve of Oct. 18, the same day he was supposedly abducted by a group of lawmen.
“I am concerned for his safety. He may get killed if he does not show up and then we’ll be blamed for his death again,” Dela Rosa said. “So be careful. Look for him. Find him and find him alive.”
Sr. Supt. Glenn Dumlao, chief of the PNP Annti-Kidnapping Group, said Rafael left the police headquarters without permission on Friday accompanied by Sr. Supt. Benjamin Acorda, who was supposed to be “guardian.”
When pursuing policemen found him at his home in Antipolo City Friday evening, they tried to arrest him on the strength of an arrest warrant that was issued by the court before he was identified by another principal suspect in the case SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel.
But Rafael, who is also a lawyer, disputed the validity of the arrest warrant because it was under the name of an “alias Dumlao.”
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre concurred on Saturday that the police should first clarify to the issuing court the identity of the “alias Dumlao” in the warrant before serving it on Rafael.
“But if Col. Glenn Dumlao has incontrovertible evidence, they can service that and Rafael Dumlao cannot resist. The best is to have clarify the warrant and have the judge issue another warrant against Rafael Dumlao,” Aguirre said.
Meanwhile, Aguirre said another suspect in the Jee killing was placed under protective custody on Saturday.
“I want to inform you that [the suspect known as] “Jerry” is already under the protective custody of the National Bureau of Investigation,” said Aguirre in a radio interview.
Sta. Isabel’s suspected cohorts SPO4 Roy Villegas and PO2 Christopher Baldovino had earlier said a certain “Jerry” who claimed to be an NBI agent was also involved in the operation to abduct Jee.
Aguirre confirmed that “Jerry” is a confidential informant of the NBI and “he has many things to say. He will go to the Senate [hearing on Tuesday] if he gets a subpoena,” he said.