POLICE Supt. Rafael Dumlao, former head of the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, on Tuesday asked the Department of Justice to dismiss the criminal charges against him, saying he was not behind the abduction and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo in October last year.
Dumlao made the denial as he attended the DoJ preliminary investigation and submitted his counter-affidavit on charges of kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention with homicide, robbery, carnapping, falsification and obstruction of justice filed by his colleagues from the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group.
Dumlao disputed the allegations of other respondents, including Senior Police Officer 2 Ricky Sta. Isabel, Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Villegas and Jerry Omlang, accusing him as the brains in kidnap slaying of the South Korean businessman.
“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 13-page counter-affidavit.
The police officer also revealed in his counter-affidavit the involvement of three NBI officials—former NBI deputy director for investigation services Jose “Jojo” Yap; former National Capital Region director Ricardo Diaz and former Task Force against Illegal Drugs head Roel Bolivar, saying Sta. Isabel dropped their names as those responsible for the operation on Jee.
Because of this, he asked the DoJ to dismiss the charges against him, citing inconsistencies in the statements of Sta. Isabel, Villegas and Omlang.
“At best, the statements of Sta. Isabel, Villegas and Omlang trying to implicate me in the offenses that they themselves perpetrated only serve to strengthen my innocence. Their statements and inconsistencies cast a serious doubt over the credibility of their narrations,” he claimed.
The other respondents—Gream funeral employees Epephany Gotera, Teodolito Macato Tarepe, Kevin Enriquez, Robert John Tobias and Bernardo Maraya—also denied knowledge and participation in the kidnapping and killing of the Korean businessman.
They also submitted their counter-affidavits in hearing yesterday.
Meanwhile, the NBI officials tagged in the controversy are set to submit their respective answers in the next hearing on Friday, March 10.
Sta. Isabel and other respondents —Ramon Yalung and Gerardo Santiago—have denied taking part in killing of Jee in earlier hearings.