JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Friday designated a new prosecutor who will handle the case of Korean businessman who was kidnapped along with his assistant in Angeles City last Oct. 18.
Aguirre assigned Prosecution Attorney Loverhette Jeffrey Villordon to take over the case from Assistant State Prosecutor Hjalmar Quintana, who recused from handling the complaints for kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention in relation to the disappearance of businessman Jee Ick Joo.
Quintana reportedly inhibited after respondents, led by Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, accused him of being biased against them.
The Justice secretary vowed to speed up the resolution of the so-called “Tokhang for ransom” case involving unscrupulous policemen.
Earlier, Choi Kyung Jin, Jee’s wife, said eight armed men took her husband and some of their personal belongings.
The couple’s house help, Marissa Dawis, was also abducted. She was released the following day.
Authorities have so far identified only three of the eight suspects, including Sta. Isabel, a driver, and an alleged accomplice.
Sta. Isabel, a member of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, is under restricted custody in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Choi has already offered a P100,000 reward for anyone who could give information on the whereabouts of her husband.
Aguirre made the appointment a day after Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa warned an “idiot” policeman accused of kidnapping a South Korean businessman that he would die unless he surrendered.
“I hope you surrender because if you don’t, you will really die. You son of a bitch, you will die if you do not surrender,” Dela Rosa said in an interview with DZMM radio.
He made his statement even as the family of the Korean national offered a P100,000-reward for information that could lead to the victim’s location and the arrest of the suspects.
The businessman disappeared from his home in Angeles City in October last year, with the kidnappers demanding a ransom for his release, authorities said.
Police said earlier this week an officer with an anti-drug task force was suspected of involvement, that he had been placed under “restrictive custody” and that criminal charges would be filed against him.
But Dela Rosa revealed Thursday the accused officer had not been detained as part of his “restrictive custody.” He said the policeman was meant to just report to his officers, but that he had stopped doing so and gone missing.