PNP seeks transfer of Dumlao from Crame to BJMP facility in Pampanga

PNP Supt. Rafael Dumlao during a Senate hearing on Jan. 26, 2017, on the murder of Korean national Jee Ick-Joo. (File photo by MAILA AGER / INQUIRER.net)

Supt. Rafael P. Dumlao III, one of the accused in the kidnapping and killing of South Korean businesman Jee Ick-Joo, should not be treated like a “sacred cow,” the Philippine National Police (PNP) told the Angeles City Regional Trial Court in its motion for the transfer of detention of the former anti-illegal drug cop from the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame to a facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Pampanga.

Dumlao is one of the principal accused in the Jee murder case and in the abduction of his house help Marisa Morquicho.

The motion was submitted by Supt. Arnel Jamandron Apud, chief of the PNP Custodial Service Unit, Headquarters Support Service.

According to the motion, Dumlao “enjoys the perks and privileges of a VIP detainee considering the relatively spacious cells and convenient ambience unlike other detention prisoners at any BJMP facility, all at the government’s expense.”

Allowing Dumlao to stay at the PNP Custodial Center, the PNP told the court, would be discriminatory and a violation of the equal protection clause.

“The fact that he is a police officer and a public servant whose duty is to save and protect lives already leaves a bad taste in the mouth considering the charges against him,” the PNP said. “The detention of accused Dumlao necessarily entails expense of the taxpayers’ money and utilization of the government’s invaluable human resource which in this case is the police, whose time and energy should be properly channeled to law enforcement functions.”

“Thus, for reasons of practicality, frugality in using public funds and ensuring the safety and security of both accused and government personnel, accused Dumlao should be detained to an appropriate detention facility nearest the Court’s jurisdiction and under the authority and supervision of the BJMP,” the PNP added.

The court recently accepted the amended information filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the Jee case, which included Dumlao and Jerry Omlang, former confidential agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Arraignment is set for May 31. /atm