Japan submits formal request to Philippines to deport four suspects
By Jaspearl Tan
The Japanese government has requested the Philippines for the deportation of four suspects, one of whom could be the alleged mastermind “Luffy”, involved in a series of robberies in Japan since last year.
The embassy identified the four suspects as Imamura Kiyoto, Yuki Watanabe, Tomonobu Kojima, and Toshiyaki Fujita.
The four suspects, held at an immigration detention center in Taguig, were reportedly involved in at least 14 robberies in some Japanese prefectures and the murder of a 90-year-old woman in a suburb in Tokyo.
They have been allegedly giving instructions to their members in Japan via smartphones while in detention.
Remulla said some mobile devices have been confiscated and now under the possession of Philippine authorities.
In a statement released Monday, Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Dominic Clavano said the Japanese Embassy and the DOJ had a coordination meeting in the afternoon.
“In that meeting, the Japanese Embassy presented four outstanding arrest warrants which have been pending in Japan for some years now. This is the basis for the request for the deportation of the four Japanese nationals from the Philippines to Japan,” Clavano said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the DOJ will verify if the four have no pending cases against suspects which are hindering their deportation process.
“If there are cases pending against them that is preventing deportation, we will investigate these cases if they are real cases or contrived cases, or cases put up to prevent deportation. And then, we will move to have them dismissed if this is the case. Or if the case is solvable already that we can find an ending to the pending cases, we will do so,” Remulla said at a morning press conference.
Kiyoto had a criminal case at the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) which was dismissed in January 25, 2023 and he has a deportation order as a fugitive for theft in Japan.
Watanabe has a pending violence against women and children case (VAWC) at the Pasay RTC.
He also has a deportation order May 28, 2021 for being an illegal entrant and for being a fugitive for use of counterfeit official mark and theft, a Department of Justice briefer said.
The next hearing of Watanabe is scheduled for February 16, a source from the Pasay RTC told the Daily Manila Shimbun in a phone interview.
Once legal requirements are completed, Remulla said the four can be deported in "10 to 12 days or earlier."
Remulla said the investigation on “Luffy” is ongoing and the telephones of the suspects that are under the custody of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will be turned over for forensic examination.
Remulla also said he hopes to be able to clear the issue before President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. leaves for Japan in February.
In an interview with the Daily Manila Shimbun, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said there are no deportations scheduled for the 17 Japanese nationals detained at the BI Bicutan Detention Center.
“Definitely the 17 are up for deportation, that’s why they are at the warden facility. But it will depend on when because most of them have pending cases in the Philippines. So we have to wait for the resolution of cases here before we implement the deportation,” said Sandoval.
“There is no scheduled deportation in the next few days,” she added.
Sandoval said: '' There is no official confirmation if ‘Luffy’ is a person or a group.” DMS
