PNP asks Pampanga court to transfer Rafael Dumlao to regular jail

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has asked a Pampanga court to transfer former anti-narcotics operative Supt. Rafael Dumlao III, one of the accused in the abduction and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo, to a regular detention facility.

In a motion filed with the Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 58, PNP Custodial Service Unit Headquarters Support Service head Supt. Arnel Jamandron Apud said Dumlao should be detained at a jail facility in Pampanga.

For Apud, Dumlao should not be treated like a "sacred cow" as doing so would be discriminatory and a violation of the equal protection clause.

"It is worth pointing out that, at present, while being detained at the PNP Custodial Center, accused Dumlao enjoys the perks and privileges of a VIP detainee considering the relatively spacious cells and convenient ambiance unlike other detention prisoners at any BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) facility, all at the government’s expense," the motion read.

“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,” it added.

The motion said it would be practical to transfer Dumlao, citing expenses for transporting him from the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City to Angeles City to attend court hearings and risk on his life and police escorts.

"[T]he distance from the place of detention to the court logically and necessarily presents an opportunity for threat and hazard," Apud said.

Angeles City is nearly a two-hour drive from Quezon City.

Dumlao and four others would be arraigned on May 31 for the kidnapping for ransom with homicide case in relation to Jee's killing.

He is also facing charges for carnapping, and kidnapping and serious illegal detention in relation to the abduction of Jee's househelp Marisa Morquicho.

Morquicho was set free while Jee was strangled to death on board his car while it was parked inside the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame. —ALG, GMA News