4 days ago
7
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
MANILA, Philippines — Former police lieutenant colonel Rafael Dumlao III, the convicted mastermind in the kidnapping and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo, was arrested Tuesday after authorities tracked his movements while he was reportedly watching his daughter's wedding through Facebook Live.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said investigators monitored Dumlao after his daughter's wedding on Sunday, June 7 and used the information to verify his identity and location.
“Trinack namin ‘yung movement niya at trinack namin kung siya talaga ‘yun. And it looks like he was parang naka-Facebook Live, pinapanood niya yung kasal ng anak niya,” Remulla said at a news briefing in Camp Crame, which was streamed on Facebook.
(We tracked his movements and tracked whether it was really him. And it looks like he was on Facebook Live, watching his daughter's wedding.)
Dumlao, who had been in hiding for nearly two years, was arrested at a house in Barangay Pasong Tamo, Quezon City following a three-week surveillance operation by the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Authorities said an informant tipped them off about Dumlao's whereabouts.
“It looks like he has been there for a while. We don’t know who owns the house, but we have an informant who saw him there,” Remulla said.
Police said Dumlao had largely remained within Metro Manila while evading authorities. The house where he was found was concealed by high walls and trees.
Authorities recovered a Taurus 9mm pistol, a cellphone and a laptop from Dumlao during the arrest. His electronic devices will undergo forensic examination to determine whether other people helped him evade authorities.
Philippine National Police chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said information provided by residents helped authorities locate Dumlao.
"We would like to thank and congratulate the community and operating unit. Community why? Because they provided leads so we can track the fugitive," Nartatez said.
Dumlao carried a P1.09-million bounty and was among the Department of the Interior and Local Government's most wanted fugitives.
The Philippine government has informed South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Jee's widow of Dumlao's arrest, Remulla said.
High-profile case
The case stemmed from the October 2016 abduction of Jee from his home in Angeles City, Pampanga by police officers who falsely accused him of involvement in illegal drugs.
Investigators found that Jee was brought to Camp Crame, where he was strangled inside a vehicle. His body was later brought to a funeral home, cremated and his ashes disposed of.
Even after his death, his captors allegedly demanded ransom money from his family, which paid P5 million.
The killing sparked outrage in South Korea and became one of the most notorious crimes linked to the Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign.
In 2023, the Angeles City Regional Trial Court convicted Dumlao's co-accused, former SPO2 Ricky Sta. Isabel and former National Bureau of Investigation asset Jerry Omlang, of kidnapping with homicide.
While the trial court acquitted Dumlao, the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling in 2024 and found him guilty of kidnapping with homicide. He was sentenced to reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole, on top of a separate 35-year prison sentence for carnapping.
By then, Dumlao had already gone into hiding, prompting Philippine authorities to seek an Interpol Red Notice against him.
Remulla said Dumlao's arrest should serve as a reminder to law enforcers that abuses committed under the guise of anti-drug operations would eventually be punished.
The interior secretary described former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs as a "sham," arguing that the government's flagship anti-drug campaign, Oplan Tokhang, gave some police officers excessive latitude that enabled abuses.
“Tokhang gave too much license to PNP operatives to do things at their whim without the process of law,” Remulla said.
He added that authorities would continue pursuing fugitives regardless of their former positions in government.
"Kung PNP chief ka man dati, kung pulis ka dati, it is not a consideration that the institution is above everything else," he said.
(Even if you were once a PNP chief or a police officer, that does not place you above the institution or the law.) — with a report from Emmanuel Tupas
