DOJ: 5 liable for Korean fugitive’s escape

MANILA, Philippines - Five airport personnel have been found liable by a fact-finding body of the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the illegal flight of a South Korean fugitive from the airport last March.

In a 15-page report released yesterday, the DOJ panel – led by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Aileen Marie Gutierrez recommended filing criminal and administrative charges against Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers Augustus Caesar Morales and Roselle Sacendoncillo and Department of Transportation and Communication-Office of Transportation Security employee Fernando Pedrajas.

The DOJ also found liable lawyers Arvin Cesar Santos and Jing Oliver Balina of the BI law and investigation division.

The probe team concluded that Morales, Sacendoncillo and Pedrajas deliberately facilitated the escape of Korean fugitive Park Sungjun last March 19.

The DOJ found that the three “knew that Park Sungjun was included in the blacklist prior to his actual departure, and yet, they deliberately facilitated the latter’s escape, in consideration for a certain amount of money.”

The DOJ said Sacendoncillo was the one who processed the Korean’s passport and stamped his boarding pass. Pedrajas, meanwhile, extended his stay beyond his official duty hours just to escort Park from the departure hall to the final X-ray examination area.

Morales, meanwhile, was the one who allegedly instructed Sacendoncillo through text messages to allow the Korean to leave the Philippines.

Sacendoncillo admitted during the investigation that Morales handed her P10,000 while they were in the pantry of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 departure area as payment for allowing Park to fly out of the country.

Charges

For this, the DOJ panel recommended filing charges of bribery and violation of Section 3 (a) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and Section 7 of RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) against the five employees.

As for Balina and Santos, the fact-finding team said they should be administratively charged with gross neglect of duty for approving Park’s departure.

Since both of them had the records containing information about Park’s status, the probe team also said they should be held liable for violation of Section 3 (j) of RA 3019 for “knowingly approving…license, permit, privilege or benefit in favor of any person…not legally entitled to such licenses.”

Another conspiracy?

Park managed to a secure visa in what appeared to be another connivance among BI personnel.

The STAR learned that an initial probe showed that Park was already the subject of a summary deportation order in June last year. A deportation warrant was issued in August but Park was able to secure a working visa from the bureau. It was found that Park’s name was inserted for visa application processing.

Park bought his ticket just hours before his flight, checked in late, and got on the Philippine Airlines flight directly with a stamped boarding pass. His departure from NAIA at around 1 a.m. last March 19 was not registered in the immigration database and was only discovered in the flight manifest.

The fugitive, who fled his country last year after being tagged in an investment scam, was intercepted by Korean authorities at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, who were not alerted by Philippine authorities.

In 2011, another Korean fugitive – Kim Tae-dong – was able to escape BI custody. Kim, 54, was wanted in his country for cheating in baccarat games at a Seoul casino in 2010.

He managed to escape the following month from a private hospital where he had been confined for hypertension, diabetes and abdominal pain under BI guard.