NBI officials named respondents in Korean kidnap-murder case

THREE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials, together with several employees of a funeral parlor in Caloocan, were included in the list of suspects in the reinvestigation of the Oct. 18, 2016, kidnap-murder of Korean businessman Ick Joo Jee.

In an 11-page supplemental complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group ( PNP-AKG) before the Department of Justice (DoJ), the following have been included as new respondents:

a. NBI Regional Operations Service Ricardo Diaz, who was previously NBI National Capital Region Director

b. Officer-in-Charge of Information and Communications Technology Division Jose Yap, who was formerly Deputy Director for Investigative Services

c. Office of the NBI Director staff Roel Bolivar, who was formerly head of Task Force against Illegal Drugs

d. Epephany M. Gotera, partner of co-respondent Gerardo G. Santiago

e. Teodolito Macato Tarepe, employee of GREAM Funeral Parlor

f. Kevin C. Enriquez, employee of GREAM Funeral Parlor

g. Robin John P. Tobias, employee of GREAM Funeral Parlor

h. Bernardo M. Maraya, Jr., employee of GREAM Funeral Parlor

The new respondents bring the total of identified respondents to 14, while one alias “Pulis” remained unidentified along with several John Does.

Earlier named respondents were Senior Police Officer (SPO) 3 Ricky M. Sta. Isabel, SPO4 Roy L. Villegas, the former head of the now-disbanded PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group Police Superintendent Rafael P. Dumlao III, and their alleged civilian accomplices Ramon V. Yalung, Jerry Omlang and Gerardo G. Santiago, the retired police officer who operates the funeral parlor where Mr. Jee’s remains were said to have been brought by his killers and cremated.

Mr. Sta. Isabel, the principle suspect in the case, pointed to his supervisor Mr. Dumlao as the brains behind the operation.

According to a Jan. 17 resolution by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas of the DoJ, Mr. Jee was killed inside the Philippine National Police ( PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame that same night he was abducted from his residence in Pampanga.

Mr. Dumlao, for his part, had earlier alluded to the involvement of several NBI agents in the case. PNP Director- General Ronald M. dela Rosa, for his part, said on Jan. 30 that based on Mr. Dumlao’s affidavit, NBI officials may be involved in the case.

“In his submitted statement, [ Mr. Dumlao] named respondents Diaz, Yap and Bolivar, all of the[ m] [ NBI] and narrated their direct participation in these complaints,” the document reads.

Following the reports, Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II ordered the reshuffling of the NBI agents, including Messrs. Diaz, Yap and Bolivar, on Feb. 2.

Mr. Jee’s widow, Kyung-jin Choi, had earlier indicated in her letter to President Rodrigo R. Duterte that she wanted the NBI to be out of the investigation into her husband’s kidnapping and murder.

“In this regard, I would like to request that instead of this joint NBI-PNP Task force, the investigation be carried on by the PNP-AKG for the simple reason that I do not trust the NBI to carry out an impartial investigation,” Ms. Choi said.

The PNP-AKG also sought to file additional charges of kidnapping for ransom with serious illegal detention with homicide, robbery, carnapping, falsification of public document and obstruction of justice.

The PNP-AKG in its preliminary investigation is scheduled to hold another hearing on March 2, 2:00 p.m.