Senator Ping Lacson during the Senate Hearing on the murder of Korean National Jee Ick Joo. INQUIRER PHOTO\/ ALEXIS CORPUZ\/ INQUIRER PHOTO
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday said he had advised the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to treat any information that a \u201cKorean mafia\u201d was behind the murder of Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo carefully, saying the new angle appeared farfetched.
\u201cIf we go by the evidence at hand, the Korean mafia angle is quite a stretch,\u201d Lacson told the Inquirer in a text message. \u201cHaving said that, the combined PNP and NBI probers should be very careful in processing information that have suddenly sprouted from various sources.\u201d
The former PNP chief said certain leads from \u201csources\u201d might be \u201cill-motivated.\u201d He said such information \u201ccould weaken the case.\u201d
Lacson said that in a meeting at his office on Wednesday, he told PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa and NBI Director Dante Gierran to \u201cwork closely together and consolidate all the pieces of evidence, and not be affected by intrigues and disinformation.\u201d
\u201cI told them, the most embarrassing scenario to happen in this case is a dismissal by the court due to conflicting theories and uncoordinated presentation of evidence,\u201d he said.
Lacson heads the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, which opened an inquiry into the killing of Jee by a group of police antinarcotics officers.
The Korean businessman was kidnapped last Oct. 18 and killed on the same day. His remains were cremated and flushed down a toilet. The kidnappers later extorted P5 million from his wife.
SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, a major suspect in the case, has denied any involvement and pointed to his superior, Supt. Rafael Dumlao of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG), as the brains.
Dumlao denied any role and accused NBI National Capital Region Director Ricardo Diaz of involvement.
As a result, Diaz, NBI Task Force Against Illegal Drugs chief Roel Bolivar, deputy director for investigative services Jose Yap, and NBI Metro Manila head agent Darwin Lising were relieved of their posts.
Dela Rosa told reporters on Friday that a syndicate involving corrupt NBI officials, conspiring with policemen like
Sta. Isabel, extort from Korean businessmen, including operators of online gaming.
The group killed Jee \u201cto teach other Koreans involved in online gambling and to scare them, they used Sta. Isabel to make it appear [that Jee\u2019s abduction] was a drug operation,\u201d Dela Rosa said.
A Korean mafia preying on rich Koreans in the Philippines may also have been involved in Jee\u2019s case, he added.
An officer who had served with the AIDG, which was ordered disbanded by President Duterte in the wake of Jee\u2019s murder inside Camp Crame, said the Korean mafia had really intended to kill Jee.
The officer said the AIDG was preparing to raid a big meth laboratory when the scandal broke out.
\u201cWe believe that is the ultimate intention in killing Jee in Camp Crame. They (Korean mafia) wanted the AIDG dissolved and make the drug lords happy again,\u201d the officer said.
In an interview with the Inquirer on Saturday, Diaz took a swipe at Dela Rosa and others who are \u201cfloating\u201d the \u201cKorean mafia\u201d angle.
He urged investigators to follow the evidence, which he said would show, as the NBI investigation had concluded, that Dumlao masterminded Jee\u2019s kidnapping and Sta. Isabel executed the plan.
\u201cThey want the people to believe that everything about the (Jee) case started with the NBI. How convenient can that be?\u201d Diaz told the Inquirer. \u201cDo not speculate, do not create scenarios, stick to the facts.\u201d \u2014WITH A REPORT FROM ARLYN DELA CRUZ<\/p>\n