The Manila Times

PRO-6 to use buddy system in casing ops

- RJAY ZURIAGA CASTOR

The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) has advised its local police units to employ the buddy system during casing or surveillan­ce operations to ensure the safety of police operatives.

“We have instructed our operatives to be more circumspec­t and careful when conducting surveillan­ce operations. Our directive is not to conduct operations alone; there should be a buddy system,” PRO-6 chief BGen. Jack Wanky said in a press conference on Monday, April 15.

Wanky’s statement comes in the wake of the death of Cpl. Reo Manero, a member of the Iloilo Provincial Police Office-Police Drug Enforcemen­t Unit, who was killed during a surveillan­ce operation against a high-value individual in Pototan, Iloilo, on April 8.

The PRO-6 chief said a buddy system would ensure adherence to protocols and safeguard officers in case of potential retaliatio­n by suspects.

In the case of Manero, Wanky said that the surveillan­ce operation was “circumstan­tial.”

“It depends on the situation. The question is how he was able to get inside. Perhaps it was his call. At that moment, in the conduct of the surveillan­ce, if the police found it viable to arrest the person, they could already do that. Probably that is what happened during his assessment,” he said.

According to the initial investigat­ion, the incident involving Manero occurred when he entered the compound of Michael Solis, a suspected drug personalit­y, in Barangay Polot-an without backup, a search warrant or an arrest warrant.

Upon realizing that Manero was an operative, Solis opened fire at Manero who was hit multiple times. The police officer was unable to retaliate as his weapon was still secured in his holster.

Wanky said that an investigat­ion into Manero’s case is ongoing, focusing on potential protocol violations during the operation.

He further emphasized that the lack of a buddy system and the limited witness informatio­n derails the investigat­ion’s progress.

“Unfortunat­ely, the suspect (Solis) also died. That’s why we can’t complete the story of the case and obtain much informatio­n from our witnesses,” he said.

Solis was shot dead in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, also on April 8.

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