5 anti-drug agents killed in Lanao del Sur ambush

Five Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) personnel were killed while two others were wounded in an ambush in Lanao del Sur yesterday.

In a report reaching Camp Crame, police identified the slain PDEA agents as Kenneth Tabulo, Kristine Mae Torlao, Lores Joy Amar, Binzo Dipolla and Diobel Pacinio.

They died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Marawi City.

Those wounded were agent Rachel Gentapanan and Normina Dicay, a civilian employee of PDEA-ARMM and not a non-uniformed personnel of the Tagoenforcement municipal police based on the spot report. Both are now undergoing treatment.

The report said the victims conducted a symposium for drug surrenderers in Tagoloan II town in Lanao del Sur yesterday morning and were on their way to Marawi on board a van when they were waylaid by unidentified men at noon in Barangay Malna, Kapai.

Tagoloan and Kapai police officers are conducting hot pursuit operations against the perpetrators.

A PDEA officer in Northern Mindanao, who asked not to be named, said there may have been lapses in the security protocol. The procedure is for agents to travel in a convoy only if there is an anti-drug operation, such as a raid or an entrapment.

The source said it was possible that the agents traveled without any additional enforcers in tow since they were in Tagoloan II for an information and education campaign, and not for an operation.

It can be recalled that the PDEA-ARMM earlier arrested three government officials in Lanao del Sur, who were considered as the “biggest narco-politicians” in the province.

The suspects were arrested during a raid in Iligan City on Sept. 19. /