Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:604px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748157273562dumalao-012817.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Supt. Rafael Dumlao File Photo "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Supt. Rafael Dumlao File Photo </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Sunday confirmed that he has ordered a “manhunt” operation against former Police Lt. Col. Rafael Dumlao III, the mastermind in the 2016 killing of a South Korean businessman inside national police headquarters.</p><p>Dumlao has been in hiding since the court convicted him over the killing of businessman Jee Ick-joo.</p><p>The killings was mentioned anew after a recent meeting between Philippine and South Korean officials, Bersamin told reporters in a chance interview.</p><p>“Marami pang ibang immediate [na napag-usapan] kaya lang tumawag ng pansin ko ito dahil 2016 pa ito nangyari tapos itong murder na ito nangyari sa loob ng Camp Crame,” the executive secretary said.</p><p>(There were other immediate concerns, but this caught my attention because this murder happened back in 2016, and it happened inside Camp Crame)</p><p>He said he was surprised that Dumlao had not been found and said that he decided a manhunt &quot;is the only&quot; solution to finding the fugitive ex-cop official.</p><p>“If he does not fully surrender, then he runs the risk of a full-scale manhunt,” he added.</p><p>He said there are no immigration records showing Dumlao had left the country but acknowledged he may have slipped out.</p><p>“Hindi naman natin siya minemenos na wala na siya dito,” he said.</p><p>(We are not discounting the possibility he may already have left)</p><p>Bersamin added that he gave a “commitment” to the South Korean government that Dumlao would be found and held accountable for the crime.</p><p>Jee was reported kidnapped from his home in Angeles City in October 2016.</p><p>Investigators later found he was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/01/19/17/korean-businessman-killed-inside-camp-crame-bato">killed inside the heavily guarded Camp Crame in Quezon City</a> the same day he was abducted..</p><p>Jee&#x27;s abductors also tried to dispose of his remains in a funeral parlor in Caloocan.</p><p>In 2019, a Pampanga regional trial court convicted several police officials, but acquitted Dumlao, and released him from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center.</p><p>Last year, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision, but Dumlao has yet to be re-arrested.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/06/06/23/cop-ex-nbi-aide-convicted-for-south-korean-kidnap-slay">Cop, ex-NBI aide convicted for South Korean kidnap-slay; alleged mastermind acquitted</a></div><div><br/><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M8tV8MibGjs?si=sAMKWlu4m0-znmGO" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Sunday confirmed that he has ordered a “manhunt” operation against former Police Lt. Col. Rafael Dumlao III, the alleged mastermind in the 2016 killing of a South Korean businessman inside national police headquarters.</p>

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Sunday confirmed that he has ordered a “manhunt” operation against former Police Lt. Col. Rafael Dumlao III, the alleged mastermind in the 2016 killing of a South Korean businessman inside national police headquarters.

Palace orders manhunt for ex-cop tagged in South Korean’s slay inside Camp Crame

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Palace orders manhunt for ex-cop tagged in South Korean’s slay inside Camp Crame

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 25, 2025 03:50 PM PHT

Read More:

Lucas Bersamin

Rafael Dumlao

Jee Ick Joo

South Korea

crime

ABSnews

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