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Friday, March 29, 2024

Jee murder part of destab plot? Lacson puzzled

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GOVERNMENT investigators are looking at the possibility that the kidnapping and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo by policemen is being used as part of a plot to destabilize the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Tuesday.

“That is one of the theories… That’s why we need to dig deeper and conduct a deeper investigation,” Aguirre said.

He made his statement even as Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said he wanted to find out if Jee’s kidnapping for ransom was an isolated case or if his killers would go scot-free.

He also asked if policemen were using their fight against illegal drugs for their self-aggrandizement.

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“Is that an isolated case? The case of the Korean? Or were there other similar incidents?” said Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs.

Lacson said he would conduct a Senate inquiry on Thursday on the case of the slain businessman who  was kidnapped from his house in Pampanga in the guise of a drug raid. 

Aguirre said he believed that Duterte’s political opponents were taking advantage of the Korean’s case to attack the Philippine National Police’s war on drugs.

He cited the recent calls for the resignation of Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa over the case, which he described as an isolated one.

“The thrust of the Duterte administration is really this war on drugs and it is symbolized by our police force led by General Bato dela Rosa,” Aguirre said. 

“If you want to destabilize the Duterte administration, you really have to destroy first the PNP and General Bato.”

Aguirre said Duterte was right in rejecting the calls for Dela Rosa to resign “because there is no evidence that the PNP is protecting these scalawags.”

He said House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had already taken back his call for Dela Rosa’s resignation.

He said he believed in the possibility that   other police officials were behind Jee’s kidnapping and killing in October last year.

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