Lacson to Bato dela Rosa: Go after rogue cops

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday urged Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa to go after rogue cops as soon as possible. 

Lacson described the reported killing of South Korean Jee Ick Joo right inside Camp Crame as “the most unwelcome wake-up call” for Dela Rosa.

“Having said that, the PNP leadership should lose no time in addressing the issue by henceforth going hammer and tongs against all rogue cops who only care about their personal gains to the detriment of the entire police organization,” he said in a press statement. 

He said Dela Rosa should prioritize in the internal cleansing those who are taking advantage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s intensified “all-out, mostly bloody war against illegal drugs.”

The senator recalled that when he was PNP chief 17 years ago, he really hit hard on inept, corrupt and undisciplined policemen regardless of rank. 

“My primary concern was to do justice to the sacrifices of the overwhelmingly many honest and hardworking police officers,” he said. 

Lacson said Dela Rosa knows that and he is certain the present PNP chief knows how to do it. “He (Dela Rosa) was one of those at the forefront of our no-nonsense internal cleansing of the police.”  

The senator has earlier called on Dela Rosa to cleanse the PNP ranks.

‘Dirty cops’

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian echoed Lacson’s sentiments, saying Jee’s kiling “inside the very seat of command of the PNP highlights the urgent need for the PNP to cleanse its ranks of dirty cops.”

“I am calling on PNP chief Director General Bato Dela Rosa to use all the resources at his disposal to mount a police purification campaign which will identify and remove corrupt police officers quickly, and without mercy,” Gatchalian said.

He said the success or failure of the administration's anti-crime campaign will depend on Dela Rosa's ability to redeem the public's trust in the police force by setting his house in order.

“These dirty cops must be brought to justice,” he said. “I am one with the President in the fight against crime, but we must also face a brutal fact: we will lose this fight if the people lose faith in our police force. We simply cannot let this happen.” 

For his part, Sen. Francis Escudero said the killing of Jee “shows the absence of respect and sheer arrogance of some police officers not only with their PNP Chief but with their uniform and organization.”

He said this is a result of the PNP’s soft stance against erring police officers like Supt. Marvin Marcos and others who are accused of killing Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa.

“This is what happens when you handle with kid gloves abusive PNP officers and coddle and protect them (like Col. Marcos). Gen De la Rosa said it himself once before... "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." They should deal with Col Marcos and this PNP official harshly in order to show and prove that abusive cops shall not and will not be tolerated by this government,” he said.

On the other hand, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the South Korean national’s death was saddening and infuriating.

“Nakakalungkot at nakakagalit. (They should) enforce the law! The law is in place. Murder is non-bailable,” he said.

Sen. Leila de Lima, for her part, said the killing of Jee was expected after President Duterte unleashed a policy of tolerance on PNP abuse in the war on drugs, to the point of promising pardon for those found guilty of abuses.

“Once he adopted such a policy, the parameters of which are unclear, there is no longer any distinction if the same involves EJKs of drug suspects or, in this case, an innocent foreign businessman target of a shakedown,” she said.

“This is the logical and necessary outcome of giving unlimited power and virtual immunity to policemen. This administration is the least to complain about crimes committed by policemen, after being the one to encourage lawlessness among their ranks in the prosecution of the war on drugs and in tolerating the summary execution of drug suspects,” she added.

De Lima said the international community is now forewarned of what law enforcement has become in the Philippines, where the law enforcers have become the number one criminal offenders.

“We have just sent out the message to foreigners that when they now come to the Philippines, they do so at their own risk,” she said.

Killed inside Camp Crame

Dela Rosa, in a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday, said Jee was killed inside Camp Crame and as per testimony of one of the witnesses, it was SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel who strangled the victim to death. 

Dela Rosa's statement was backed by the testimony of SPO4 Roy Villegas, one of the seven individuals set to be charged in court by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the abduction and killing of Jee.

According to the DOJ resolution, Jee was brought to Camp Crame after he was abducted from his home.

Villegas said he noticed Sta. Isabel talking with a certain Sir Dumlao and overheard their conversation. He added that Sta. Isabel brought a packaging tape and surgical gloves and instructed them to cover Jee's head.

"When he (Villegas) asked the respondent (Sta. Isabel) for what reason, the latter instructed them to obey his order and not that of Dumlao. He finally recalls seeing respondent Sta. Isabel strangling and killing the victim," the DOJ said.

Villegas claimed that after Jee was killed, he called up Gerardo Gregorio "Ding" Santiago, the owner of Gream Funeral Services in Brgy. Bagbaguin, Caloocan City. Santiago agreed to receive Jee's body in exchange for P30,000 and a golf set, which was recovered by the police during a search operation on Wednesday.

Jee was abducted together with his househelp from his home in Angeles City, Pampanga by armed men last October 18.

A source said Jee was killed inside a black Ford Explorer that was parked inside the Police Community Relations Group compound.

“Binalot ng tape ang mukha saka sinakal, sakay ng kanyang Explorer na itim,” the source said, adding that the incident happened around 10 p.m.

A police official, who refused to be named, said the closed-circuit television footage in the area is no longer available because these were already been overwritten by the system.

In a text message to GMA News Online, Supt. Dennis Wagas, legal officer of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group, said “based on existing evidence and DOJ resolution, yes (Jee was killed inside Camp Crame)." —KG/RSJ, GMA News