Sta. Isabel yields to NBI

• Source: http://journal.com.ph/news/top-stories/sta-isabel-yields-to-nbi
• Monday, January 16, 2017

By Alfred P. Dalizon

THE former anti-narcotics agent accused of involvement in the October 18 kidnapping of a South Korean national in Angeles City yesterday yielded to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Already on AWOL status, Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel’s surrender was announced by Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald ‘Bato’ M. de la Rosa to newsmen in Camp Crame right after getting a call from Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre III in the middle of his press conference.

“I’ve asked Secretary Aguirre to tell the NBI to make sure that Sta. Isabel won’t escape,” he said.

Gen. de la Rosa said they have identified at least eight other suspects in the kidnapping-for-ransom of 53-year-old Jee Ick-joo, two of them also police non-commissioned officers like Sta. Isabel.

De la Rosa said another suspect being eyed in the kidnapping of the Korean is a retired policeman who became an elected barangay official in a Metro Manila city. He did not name names but said the retired cop-turned barangay captain is included in the drug list of President Duterte.

According to the top cop, the ex-policeman is a “high-value drug target” who is believed to have already fled after sensing he is being hunted by the police.

Gen. de la Rosa also said that the suspect is making fabricated claims against the PNP since he knows his colleagues are mad at him. “Alam niya dito sa PNP eh hindi siya safe dahil dinudungisan niya ang aming organisasyon kaya ayaw niyang magpahawak sa pulis,” he said.

Last week, Dumlao said that SPO3 Sta. Isabel was also found to have been involved in the kidnapping of a Filipino-Chinese national named Myla Tan in Caloocan City in the 1990s.