THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has created a tracker team for the conduct of intensified manhunt operation against a former police general who was convicted for the kidnapping and murder of a Korean businessman.
In an interview with reporters, PNP chief General Rommel Marbil ensured the conduct of continuous manhunt operations against dismissed Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Dumlao.
“Hahanapin natin yan. Marunong lang siya magtago kasi natuto sa pulis eh but makikita at makikita,” Dumlao said.
“Initially, dati, meron siyang surrender feeler but ngayon we don’t ano… lahat ng mga lugar niya pinuntahan namin. Ayoko na sabihin lahat ng mga places niya,” he added.
Dumlao was tagged as the mastermind in the 2016 kidnapping and murder of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.
The victim was taken by several police personnel from his residence in Angeles City in Pampanga in the guise of an anti-drug operation at the height of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
He was reportedly brought to the police’s national headquarters in Camp Crame, where he was allegedly killed inside a vehicle.
His remains were reportedly cremated, and his ashes were allegedly disposed of and flushed down a toilet on the orders of Dumlao.
In 2019, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Angeles City, Branch 60, acquitted Dumlao, but the Court of Appeals (CA) reversed this decision in July 2024.
The CA sentenced Dumlao to reclusion perpetua, or 20 to 40 years in prison, without the possibility of parole.
Dumalo was also ordered to pay Jee’s family P350,000 in damages for kidnapping and homicide.
In an interview with reporters on Sunday, May 25, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin ordered law enforcement agencies to beef up efforts to locate Dumlao and place him behind bars.
He said based on immigration records, Dumlao still remains inside the Philippines.
Bersamin said it is part of the Philippine government’s commitment to the Korean embassy and communities following a meeting held earlier. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)