Law enforcement agencies have stepped up their search for former police lieutenant colonel Rafael Dumlao III, identified as the mastermind behind the 2016 kidnapping and murder of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo.
The intensified manhunt follows an order from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who also chairs the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
Dumlao was acquitted by a Pampanga court in 2019 but was later found guilty by the Court of Appeals in June 2024, which sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole.
South Korean embassy officials raised concerns over Dumlao’s continued freedom during a recent inter-agency meeting on Korean community safety.
Authorities have offered a cash reward for information leading to Dumlao’s arrest and are also being urged to investigate similar unsolved crimes involving Korean nationals.
Source: PhilNews24 | May 26, 2025
