THE KIDNAPPING IN ANGELES CITY

In October 2016, a tragedy unfolded in Angeles City, Pampanga, that exposed a chilling level of corruption within the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The victim was Gee Ick-Joo, a 57-year-old South Korean businessman who founded a tech company in Subic. He was abducted from his home in Friendship Plaza Subdivision.

Gee Ick-Joo’s wife, Mrs. Choi Kyung-jin, reported him missing after finding their house ransacked and their jewelry gone. She quickly received a text demanding an P8 million ransom.

The investigation quickly took a dark turn. Mrs. Choi identified the assailants as police officers, revealing the operation was not a typical criminal act but a “Tokhang for Ransom” scheme—a corruption of the government’s anti-drug campaign.

The perpetrators were led by SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel and other members of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drug Group (AIDG), an elite unit meant to combat drug syndicates.

The PNP-AIDG officers, citing a fake tip, raided Gee Ick-Joo’s home. Finding no drugs, they stole valuables and forced the businessman and his housemaid into a black Toyota Hilux. The maid was eventually released, but the kidnapping plot continued.

Sta. Isabel and his accomplices demanded ransom from Mrs. Choi, who paid an initial P5 million, but the criminals demanded more. After the payment, Mrs. Choi received a cryptic message: “Game over.”

THE SCANDAL AND DISPOSAL

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Gee Ick-Joo had been slain. The body was transported to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, where he was choked and his life was taken.

The scandal deepened when authorities discovered the ultimate disposal method. The body was taken to a funeral parlor owned by Barangay Captain Gerardo Santiago in Caloocan.

There, the businessman’s body was immediately cremated, and his ashes were allegedly flushed down the toilet to destroy all evidence.

The only physical evidence left at the funeral home was Gee Ick-Joo’s golf set, which was reportedly used as partial payment for the illegal cremation. Santiago fled the country to Canada but later returned to face justice.

The subsequent Senate hearing revealed that Sta. Isabel, a police officer earning only P25,000 monthly, owned substantial assets, including a lotto outlet and building, raising serious questions about his unexplained wealth. Evidence confirmed the vehicle used in the abduction was registered to Sta. Isabel’s wife.

JUSTICE DELAYED, NOT DENIED

The case dragged on for years, marked by confusion, political deflection (including allegations that Sta. Isabel’s superior, Superintendent Rafael Dumlao, was the true mastermind), and numerous counter-accusations.

Sta. Isabel himself, fearing for his life, sought protection under the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program.

Eventually, an accomplice, SPO4 Roy Villegas, turned state witness, confirming that Sta. Isabel was the instigator who choked the businessman.

In June 2023, nearly seven years after the abduction, the Angeles City Regional Trial Court found SPO3 Ricky Sta.

Isabel and his accomplice, Jerry Omlang, guilty of kidnapping, carnapping, and murder. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment) with a minimum of 40 years.

Although Superintendent Dumlao was cleared of criminal charges (later dismissed from the PNP for administrative misconduct), the verdict was a landmark victory against police impunity, leading to the dissolution of the corrupt PNP anti-illegal drugs unit.