Philippine National Police (PNP) General Oscar Albayalde said dismissed cop Eduardo Acierto was the officer-in-charge of its Drug Enforcement Group during the 2016 killing of Jee Ick Joo but they are still not sure whether he is directly involved.

“Well he was actually the OIC then. Remember he is the OIC when Jee Ick Joo died inside the PDEG office,” Albayalde said.

Acierto was OIC since his director was out of the country.

“Actually now there are still no feedback from us if he was directly or indirectly involved. I think that part is still under investigation although we already identified who is directly involved like Col. (Rafael) Dumlao who are in jail actually,” he said.

Albayalde said they have yet to identify his participation in the case because he was dismissed from service after that incident.

Acierto was dismissed from service last August 2018 for multiple counts of graft in connection with the missing AK-47 rifles which President Rodrigo Duterte claimed landed in the hands of communist rebels.

On Tuesday, Duterte slammed Acierto for pointing at Michael Yang, he’s former special economic adviser for alleged involvement in drugs.

“I know that he is corrupt. I know that he kidnaps Chinese, Korean ? the Korea who was killed in Camp Crame. It’s him,” Duterte said in his speech in Kidapawan City, South Cotabato.

Jee Ick-Joo, according to Duterte, is not involved in drugs and Acierto’s group only wants to extort money.

The South Korean businessman was kidnapped in October 2016 in his home in Pampanga and killed inside the PNP headquarters by his kidnappers who were police officers.

The Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 56 is hearing the Jee Ick Joo case. Ella Dionisio/DMS