Iloilo’s most wanted drug kingpin killed in shootout
ILOILO CITY – After months of intelligence work, Western Visayas’ top drug lord and his son were shot dead last Friday night by law enforcers who raided a house in Jaro, Iloilo City.
Richard Prevendido, a resident of Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao district, and his son Jason were killed after clashing with policemen who were about to serve an arrest warrant at a house in Phase 4, Landheights Subdivision in Barangay Balabago in Jaro.
Joint elements of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office, Iloilo City police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, Jaro police station and the police Regional Intelligence Division raided the house at around 8:30 p.m. The two suspects were the only occupants in the two-story house in a secluded section of the subdivision.
Iloilo City police chief Senior Supt. Marlon Tayaba said when the policemen knocked on the gate of the house, they heard three shots.
“We immediately sought cover and fired back,” said Tayaba.
There were 12 members of the assault team.
Tayaba said they knew that Prevendido, alias Buang, was inside the house.
Tayaba said the policemen barged into the house and spread out, with some of the team covering other possible entrance and exit points.
Police fired at the two rooms of the house.
Tayaba said the firefight lasted less than five minutes and when the policemen opened the doors of the two rooms, they found the Prevendidos dead with various gunshot wounds.
Tayaba revealed that the IPPO had been conducting intelligence operations against Prevendido for several months.
In fact, even other law enforcement units had joined the manhunt for the drug lord.
Tayaba said the IPPO had recruited an action agent who has access to Prevendido’s group.
This led to the approval of the Complete Operation Plan (COPLAN) “Bato-Bantiling Charlie” by the Directorate for Intelligence last May.
Taking over
Prevendido took over the Iloilo drug trade after the death of Melvin Odicta Sr., head of the Odicta group, who was gunned down on Aug. 29, 2016 in Malay, Aklan. Also killed was Odicta’s wife Meriam.
Police said Prevendido had been on the national watchlist of illegal drug personalities of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Prevendido and his two nephews were charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) relative to the PDEA drug raid on Oct. 21, 2016 at Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Iloilo City, the known lair of the Prevendido family.
During the operation, the policemen were supposed to serve an arrest warrant issued by Judge Daniel Antonio Amular of the Iloilo City regional trial court.
A P1.1-million bounty was offered for Prevendido’s arrest by the Iloilo City government (P500,000), the Iloilo provincial government (P500,000) and the Police Regional Office 6 (P100,000), but the drug lord remained elusive.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said Prevendido became the top drug trafficker in the region when Odicta and his wife were killed by last year.
“We have been looking for Richard Prevendido for a long time,” Dela Rosa told radio dzBB yesterday.
He insisted that the incident was a legitimate encounter, noting that Prevendido was determined to continue with his illegal activities despite the government’s crackdown on banned narcotics. “The other drug lords have surrendered but he never showed himself.”
Police recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, a Super .38 caliber pistol, bladed weapons and three sachets of suspected shabu from the slain suspects.
Dela Rosa is uncertain if the slain drug lord is connected to Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who is included in President Duterte’s narcolist.
“I’m not sure but presumably they know each other since they are both natives of Iloilo, but for us to say he is connected to Mayor Mabilog, we can’t establish that,” he said.
What they have established, Dela Rosa said, is that Mabilog was Odicta’s protector.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella was quick to defend the operations that led to the death of Prevendido. The police gave Prevendido the moniker “Buang” (crazy) because he used the insanity plea as his defense in a previous criminal case.
“The incident shows the enormous risk our police officers face each time warrants are implemented against highvalue targets,” Abella said in a statement.
President Duterte has repeatedly said that he grieves every time a policeman is killed during drug operations.
Malacañang officials said police authorities are investigating the incident and will provide update once information becomes available.
Prevendido’s killing follows the killing of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and members of his family and close associates last month.
Dela Rosa said of the five big-time drug lords in the region, only Prevendido did not surrender to authorities.
“He never presented himself,” Dela Rosa said.
One of the five, Melvin Odicta, went to Camp Crame last year where he met with then Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno and denied he is involved in illegal drugs. He and his wife were killed days later by unidentified men in Malay, Aklan.
Dela Rosa said the other three suspected drug traffickers also presented themselves to authorities.
“They have surrendered and we are monitoring their activities,” he said.
Prevendido, meanwhile, went into hiding and continued with his illegal activities.
“He was confident and determined to fight it out,” said Dela Rosa.
The next target of the police are Prevendido’s associates in his drug activities. “He still has underlings who have been running his drug business, so it is a big group,” Dela Rosa said.
Breakthrough
Tayaba said they received a breakthrough in their monitoring information last Aug. 31.
He said an informant who belonged to Prevendido’s group told the police of the whereabouts of the drug lord.
“Nilaglag siya (he was given up),” Tayaba said.
With his tip leading to the neutralization of Prevendido, the P1.1-million reward will be given to the informant.
Testimonies of arrested drug pushers also helped in finally nailing Prevendido.
“We did operational search to discover the real properties of Richard Prevendido, as well as to monitor his scope of operation and possible hiding places,” Tayaba said.
The team monitored Crystal Cove Beach Resort in Barangay Igcadium, San Joaquin, Iloilo registered in the name of Maria Mae Gregori.
They also checked on his rest house in Barangay Daragan, Buenavista, Guimaras registered under his name and a breeding farm in Barangay Camiros, Anilao, Iloilo.
The team also visited other places such as Deca Homes Subdivision in Barangay Pandac, Pavia, Iloilo; Barangay Abilay Norte, Oton, Iloilo; Barangay Pitogo, San Joaquin, Iloilo; Sitio Ginit and Olang in Brgy. Sibariwan, Dumarao, Capiz; Barangay Tacay, Buenavista, Guimaras; Barangay Pulao, Dumangas, Iloilo; Barangay Dabong, Janiuay, Iloilo; and Sitio Turo-Turo, a village in Lambunao and Janiuay, Iloilo.
Tayaba said that as early as April, they received information from the agent that Prevendido was hiding in Landheights subdivision.
It was only around 4 p.m. last Friday that the RID team led by Supt. Julius Balano received information that the suspect was in a specific house at Landheights Subdivision.
Chief Supt Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Western Visayas police chief, said there was no intention to kill Prevendido.
“We would have wanted him alive, for every life lost we regret it,” he said.
But Binag said that policemen were given no recourse but to fire back.
“Thank God. It’s mission accomplished,” he said.
The Prevendido group is the major drug syndicate operating in Western Visayas. It has one sub-group headed by Ernesto Bolivar.
Headed by the slain Prevendido, the group has at least 15 core group members and an undetermined number of distributors.
Prevendido is the brother of barangay chair Remia Gregorio of Bakhaw village.
He was arrested before for violation of illegal possession of firearms and was detained at the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center in 2007.
While in prison, he apparently gained contacts and expertise in the illegal drug trade.
More than a year ago, the groups of Odicta and Prevendido controlled the illegal drug trade in Western Visayas.
Following the death of the Odicta couple in August 2016, Binag said the drug supply in Iloilo declined by about 60 percent.
Prevendido was eventually elevated as the number 1 illegal drugs personality in the region. On Sept. 8, 2016, he was listed as the national high value target of the Directorate of Intelligence.
In President Duterte’s list of drug personalities, Prevendido was considered as HVT (high value target) Level 3.