PRO-8 condemns summary killings
TACLOBAN CITY — The Police Regional Office-8 is condemning summary executions that have occurred in Eastern Visayas recently, which left five persons killed by still unidentified perpetrators.
PRO-8 Information Officer, Chief Inspector Maria Bella Rentuaya, in an interview over DyVL’s Operation Bulig program yesterday morning, said this is the stand of the police command here, and clarified further that the police force also needs public’s cooperation in identifying and tracking down the killers.
Last July 29, three bodies of alleged drug pushers were found inside a car abandoned at the apron of the Tacloban Airport. One of them was identified as Jason Boclatan, and the two others were women, Rowena Rosales, 42, of Barangay Bagacay in this city, and Che-Che Mantile, 22, of Barangay Nula-Tula, also in this city.
The victims were found with placards, placed on top of their bloodied bodies, with a handwritten note, stating “Drug pusher ako ‘Lord patawad.”
Police investigation has been underway, with a resident nearby, as among the witnesses, initially stating that a group of persons riding on a motorcycle left the crime scene immediately after the multiple gunshots were heard.
The night before this incident, a still unidentified man, aged about 35 to 40 years old, was found dead in a secluded grassy area at Barangay Apitong in this city, with his hands bounded with a tie wire. A placard with a sign—“Drug pusher ako ‘Lord patawad’”—was also placed beside the body, which had four gunshot wounds at the back and one more on the forehead.
Investigators already got some initial statements from a witness, which the police said would serve as the lead in the investigation to track down the killers.
On July 20, according to a report obtained by Don Leandrew Tiu of Kaugop Radio, a known drug personality in Tacloban City was shot dead in an alleged shootout at Barangay 37 in Reclamation Area, this city.
The alleged drug pusher, identified as Mario Cabus, reportedly engaged in a shootout with the arresting officer right after a buy-bust operation.
Police authorities claimed that Cabus drew his Magnum .357 revolver upon sensing that the buyer was a policeman. Recovered from the scene were three empty shells of bullets from a 9-mm pistol.
Cabus was brought to the nearby Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center but was later declared dead from gunshot wounds.
Tacloban City Councilor and lawyer Jerry Uy, also in the DyVL Radio interview, emphasized the need to uphold the rule of law, saying, “There should first be trial before they will be condemned or killed.”
He added: “Those who died of summary execution and in police operations should also obtain justice for their death.”
Rentuaya, meanwhile, appealed to those who want to help in the campaign against illegal drugs should do it the right way and not to kill those they perceived as drug pushers.