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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, January 20, 2017
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MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday approved the filing of charges against two police officers and five civilians accused of abducting and killing a Korean businessman in October last year.
Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Villegas, Ramon Yalung, a certain “Pulis,” “Jerry,” “Sir Dumlao,” and “Ding” were charged with kidnap for ransom and homicide for the killing of Hanjin executive Jee Ick Joo.
The DOJ found probable cause to charge the suspects in light of testimonies from Villegas and
Jee’s house help Marisa Morquicho, who was also abducted and later released.
“No controverting evidence was filed by any of the respondents despite the opportunity given to them,” it said in a resolution. “As the victim was killed during his detention, respondents were liable for special complex crime of kidnapping for ransom with homicide.”
Jee and Morquicho were abducted in their house in Pampanga on Oct. 18, 2016. His abductors still killed Jee even though his wife gave them ransom money.
Villegas claimed seeing Sta. Isabel strangle the victim to death inside Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police.
“I heard (Sta. Isabel) talking to Sir Dumlao and I heard him say ‘Sir, ang alam ko ay kilala niyo ang mga taong ito dahil ang pagkakaalam ko ay sanctioned niyo ito,’” Villegas said.
“Sta. Isabel was the one who brought a packaging tape and surgical gloves and ordered to cover the face of Joo,” he added. “I also saw (Sta. Isabel) strangling and killing the victim.”
“When the victim was killed, Sta. Isabel called a certain ‘Ding,’ who agreed to receive the body of Joo in exchange for P30,000 and a golf set,” Villegas further stated in his testimony.
Villegas said he joined the operation against Jee, believing it was “legitimate” since the Korean was an illegal drug suspect — only to find out it was not.
“(Villegas) reiterates that he thought all along that the surveillance and police operations he participated in were legitimate,” the DOJ said. “But when he learned that it wasn’t, he still followed Sta. Isabel for fear of his life.”
Meanwhile DOJ secretary Vitaliano Aguirre told Panay News it was premature to consider Villegas for the Witness Protection Program (WPP).
“No. We have no plan as of this time to put him under WPP. Case investigation is still ongoing,” Aguirre said. “We still have to determine who is the most and least guilty in the case.”/PN
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