The National Bureau of Investigation was tasked to investigate the case of a South Korean national who had escaped twice from the custody of the Bureau of Immigration and recently from a detention facility of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP).
Justice Secretary Benjamin Caguioa authorized the NBI to file criminal and administrative charges against those who could be held responsible for the escape of Cho Seongdae, also known as Lee Doyeon, from the BI facility on Sept. 29 and from the ISAFP detention cell in Camp Aguinaldo on Oct. 20.
Told of the NBI probe, AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla said “we cannot answer because it’s not our turf. It’s a Bureau of Immigration matter.”
A source from the military, who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of clearance to discuss the matter in the media, explained that though the South Korean fugitive was held in a detention cell at the AFP headquarters, BI personnel were tasked to guard him.
The immigration bureau requested the use of the ISAFP facility and asked that its guards be posted there, the source said.
The South Korean was first arrested for human trafficking and robbery-extortion in 2012 but escaped while receiving treatment in a hospital. Immigration records showed that he was being processed for deportation when he escaped while supposedly being guarded by Immigration agents.
Cho was arrested again after two weeks and was detained at the BI warden facility in Bicutan, Taguig City.
But he again slipped out of detention on Sept. 29 this year.
After Cho was recaptured Oct. 10 in Parañaque City, BI chief Siegfred Mison disclosed in a media briefing that the second escape was done “in connivance with some of our own men.” Mison then said Cho paid P1 million for his escape and that 10 BI employees were being investigated for it.
Earlier this week, Cho was reported to have escaped again, this time from the ISAFP detention cell being guarded by Immigration agents.
The NBI Special Task Force created for the Cho case is led by head agent Peter Chan Lugay, with members who include special agents Cesar Reyes, Arnold Diaz, Catherine Camposano, Eugenne Javier, Jimebe M. Babor and special investigator Edsel C. Pelete.
The group was given orders to review all documents, video or audio recordings related to the escape, including materials from ISAFP. It was given 30 days to submit the result of the investigation.
The Korean embassy had already cancelled the passport of Cho, who also faces extortion charges in his home country, the BI earlier said.
According to Mison, Cho provided fellow Koreans with women for sex but later had them entrapped in a police “raid.” He would then demand P2.5 million to P5 million from his compatriots if they don’t want any charges filed against them. With a report from Jaymee T. Gamil