MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has found Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison and 17 others liable for the multiple escapes of South Korean fugitive Cho Seongdae last year.
In a 21-page final report recently submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the NBI has recommended the filing of administrative charges of grave misconduct against Mison and Bureau of Immigration guard Juan Rafael Ortega.
Criminal charges for evasion through negligence or violation of Article 224 of Revised Penal Code were recommended against BI security guards Lacman Sulay, Pedro Bulawit, Jared Castillo and Juanito Nacario and confidential agents Michael Medrano, Ricky Dordas and Allan Pandapatan.
The same charges were recommended against Pfc. Richard Medina, Sgts. Joaquin Mendoza and Rene Almazan, the custodians of Cho in the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) compound in Quezon City.
The NBI also recommended administrative charges for gross neglect of duty against Sulay, Bulawit, Medrano, Dordas and Pandapatan, along with BI guards Ryan de Castro and confidential agents Crisanto Arquio, Marcos Marzan, Genaro Dorpes, Emer Bongolan and L’Rev de la Cruz.
The report signed by NBI special task force chief Peter Chan Lugay alleged that Mison committed an administrative lapse when he allowed the transfer of the Korean fugitive from the BI Warden Facility (BIWF) in Taguig City to the ISAFP detention cell in Camp Aguinaldo following the suspect’s second arrest in October.
“The transfer of Mr. Cho from BIWF to ISAFP compound after his apprehension is unauthorized and has no legal basis. In the absence of the written order or even assuming in the presence of a written order of commissioner Mison, the transfer of Mr. Cho from BIWF to ISFP compound is with commissioner Mison’s knowledge and consent,” thebureau stressed in the report obtained by The STAR from an NBI source.
The NBI probe showed that Mison “even personally visited Mr. Cho in his detention room in the ISAFP compound” where he “purportedly struck a deal with Mr. Cho to get his cooperation in finding the truth surrounding the circumstances of the latter’s first escape at the BIWF.”
It said Cho’s detention in an office room in the ISAFP facility – not in a detention cell to prevent him from escaping again – “should be attributed to Commissioner Mison.”
“Commissioner Mison should have known the situation considering that he even visited Mr. Cho while the latter was in detention at ISAFP compound,” the report pointed out.
The NBI said it has repeatedly requested cooperation from Mison’s office about Cho’s transfer to the ISAFP.
“The order issued, which authorized the turnover of Mr. Cho to the ISAFP compound and other written instructions of other subordinates related to the transfer/turnover of custody of Mr. Cho, have not been furnished to the NBI, if indeed there was a written order issued on his transfer,” the bureau said.
Mison was assigned at the ISAFP when he was still an officer of the Philippine Army.
“The reluctance of ISAFP to cooperate in the investigation on the grounds of national security should be brought to the attention of the Office of the President and the Department of (National) Defense by the Department of Justice,” added the report.
The NBI probe showed that Cho, who is wanted for an extortion case in South Korea and is also facing charges of robbery and extortion in Cavite, was first arrested on Sept. 11, 2015. He was taken to a hospital after complaining of difficulty in breathing, but was able to escape from his escorts.
He was rearrested and detained at the BIWF, but was able to escape on Sept. 29 after paying P1 million to three BI personnel for facilitating his first escape from the BIWF through the help of his China-based friend Woo Jin, whom he also paid P500,000.
Cho was arrested for the third time last Oct. 10 in Parañaque City and was brought to the ISAFP facility, where he also escaped for the third time on Oct. 21.
The 49-year-old fugitive was arrested for the fourth time last Nov. 2 by joint BI and ISAFP operatives in Pagsanjan, Laguna and has since been detained at NBI headquarters in Manila.