|
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Korean pastor is behind the Pamplona incident
By Neil C. Rio
DUMAGUETE CITY -- The management of Pamplona Cottages believes that a Korean pastor was behind the foiled "raid" of the resort Saturday afternoon by Immigration and National Bureau of Investigation agents in Bacolod City.
Leah Bobon, manager of the resort, said witnesses saw the pastor, Kim Seong "Muksanim" Kook of the Presbyterian Church of Bacolod City, aboard another van with two NBI agents when he escaped a police dragnet at the vicinity of the resort.
She alleged that the pastor is facing rape charges in Bacolod City.
Bobon claimed that Kook might have paid the NBI agents to raid the resort in retaliation against Michael Ha, head of the corporation, which is managing the facility.
As this developed, the lawyer for Pamplona Cottages, Manolo Zerna told Sun.Star that his clients will be filing charges of falsification of public documents, threat, and usurpation of authority among others against the six arrested men that included an unidentified immigration officer who accompanied them.
That is if the search warrant they served last Saturday is confirmed to be fake.
Zerna said he would also file an administrative charge against the judge who issued the search warrant.
The seven agents including the immigration officer are Ed Kawada, Menci Mamaspas, Benjie Belleza, Francis Ramos, Syrus Alazan, and Eric Plamco.
Meantime, Senior Superintendent Melvin Ramon Buenafe and NBI-Dumaguete City chief Dominador Cimafranca refused to comment on the allegation of one of the Bacolod agents that he was mauled by Chief Inspector Julius Muñez, acting deputy provincial director who led one of the two groups that rushed to Pamplona after receiving the presence of armed men in the area.
"We cannot prevent them if they will file charges. It's their right," Buenafe said.
Muñez, likewise, refused to comment on the allegations.
Bobon said the raid had an ill purpose and Pastor Kim was behind it.
She alleged that the Korean pastor had been angry with her employer for helping his two alleged rape victims whose cases were reportedly filed in Bacolod City.
The pastor, Bobon said, had been a regular customer and usually came to the resort to play golf at weekend.
The resort manager recalled that on November 25 last year the pastor telephoned Korean owner Ha for help in connection with a rape case and two attempted rape charges and he was advised by his lawyer to return to Korea.
A day after, she said, Kim appeared at Pamplona cottage to inform Ha of his flight to Manila that same day.
Bobon alleged that the pastor's wife had sent her husband's passport and visa, which he forgot to bring with him from Bacolod City.
Moreover, she said, Kim borrowed P40,000 from the resort owner to buy the ticket fare and in return he left his Revo van as collateral.
The manager said before he left, the pastor gave Ha the contact numbers of the three alleged rape and attempted rape victims so the latter could settle the complaints and if he failed to return to the Philippines he would send the settlement money.
But, she said, instead of paying the alleged victims, Ha helped them and are now under his custody.
Bobon said on December 14, 2004, Pastor Kim returned to the Philippines and telephoned Ha for help saying his wife was admitted to hospital.
The resort owner immediately left for Bacolod City but upon arrival at the El Fisher Hotel, he was surprised to see the pastor with two policemen and a lawyer. The policemen inspected his bag and disarmed Ha's security escort.
Bobon said Pastor Kim then accused him of carnapping his Revo van, stealing US$3,000 in his room, and estafa.
Ha's lawyer, Zerna, said after using the Bacolod City police for his alleged purpose, the pastor then used the NBI.
Around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, five NBI agents aboard a Ford Everest van arrived at the resort and served the search warrant against the resort.
The warrant, issued on February 3 and signed by Judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. of Branch 7 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Cebu, mentioned only a search for one of the nine rooms for the presence of two firearms, Bobon said.
From an ID, Bobon identified one of the agents as Menci Mamaspas who served the warrant.
Afterwards, she said, the agents disarmed the resort's security guards.
The resort manager said she initially refused to receive the court order saying she would have to wait for barangay officials to witness it but they were adamant and allegedly started searching the cottages including the kitchen.
She said at around two p.m., the witnesses who were fetched arrived.
At around three p.m. Bobon said, the PNP force led by Chief Inspector Munez and Supt. Mohiden Balimbingan, group director of the 705th Provincial Mobile Group, arrived.
On seeing the PNP force starting to arrest the 'agents, the Ford Everest van allegedly with Pastor Kim and two agents inside escaped despite efforts by Balimbingan to block its departure.
(February 7, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
