Drug war: 11 dead, 59 arrested
At least 11 persons believed to be involved in the illegal drug trade were killed while 59 others were arrested in Metro Manila since Thursday as the government continues to wage war against illegal drugs.
In Quezon City, four suspects were slain and at least 57 others were nabbed in antidrug operations.
Police officers identified the four slain suspects as Edwin Corpin, alias Baltik, 44; Paul Kenneth Borja, 24; Erwin Ifondo, 38; and Alvin Mendoza, alias Boyong, 32.
Corpin and Borja were shot dead after they allegedly fired at undercover police officers during a sting along Mauban street in Barangay Manresa at around 1:50 a.m. yesterday.
The La Loma police station staged the operation after receiving reports that Corpin continued to sell drugs despite surrendering to authorities last July 1.
The two suspects’ names are on the police station’s drug watchlist.
Recovered at the crime scene were a loaded .45 caliber Colt pistol, a .38 caliber revolver, five sachets said to contain shabu and fired cartridge cases.
Search warrant
Mendoza and Ifondo were shot dead at the second floor of Mendoza’s house on Nitang Avenue in Barangay Gulod at around 7:45 a.m. yesterday.
They reportedly figured in a shootout with police officers who were serving a warrant to search Mendoza’s house.
The search warrant was issued by Judge Bernelito Fernandez of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 97 for illegal drug charges.
Police officers recovered 22 sachets said to contain shabu, two .38 caliber revolvers, fired cartridge cases, and a fired bullet at the crime scene.
Also in Barangay Gulod, police officers arrested 13 drug suspects as part of Operation One-Time Big-Time just before 8 a.m. yesterday.
Fifteen suspects were rounded up but two were released after they tested negative for drugs.
Forty-four others – 37 men and seven women – were arrested during a raid on a pot session in Barangay Payatas B at around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
In Mandaluyong City, two drug suspects were among 32 persons rounded up on Thursday during an anti-crime drive in crime-prone Barangay Addition Hills.
Loreta Reyes, 48, and Alver Jimenez, 31, were arrested in a sting on Thursday, said city police chief Senior Superintendent Joaquin Alva.
He said 12 others were arrested for violating various city ordinances and two for drinking in a public place.
Brothers in crime
In Malabon City, police officers shot dead brothers Reggie and Charlie Wong, allegedly in a gunfight during an anti-drug operation along Villonco street at around 10:20 p.m. Thursday.
Police officers recovered a .38 caliber revolver, a hand grenade and eight sachets said to contain shabu from the suspects.
Investigators said the Wongs were allegedly involved in a series of robberies in the city as well as drug pushing.
In Caloocan City, Bryan Zamartisano Cervantes, alias Bokbok, 28, was killed in a shootout during a drug bust in his house on Malolos Avenue in Bagong Barrio at around 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
Police officers, who said Cervantes was a “notorious drug pusher in Barangay 140,” recovered a .38 caliber revolver and a sachet of shabu from the suspect.
In Navotas, police officers found the body of a woman in the city’s municipal cemetery at around 3:20 p.m. Thursday.
The woman’s head was wrapped in a plastic sheet and two sachets said to contain shabu were found on her body.
Police officers described the woman as between 40 and 45 years old, around five feet tall and clad in red shorts and a white sleeveless shirt.
Three killed in gun attack
In Pasay City, four unidentified assailants shot dead three men near the intersection of F.B. Harrison and Arnaiz streets Thursday night.
Jakie Flores, alias Chanchan, 30; Christian Reyes, alias Tao, 39; and Diosdado Escamillas, alias Kim, were riding a motorcycle when the assailants blocked their path and shot them at around 10 p.m.
Crime scene investigators recovered 11 shells for a 9mm pistol and two .45 caliber cartridges.
Police officers are checking if the attack is drug- related since one of the victims was recently arrested for illegal drug possession.
In Marikina, alleged pusher Emmanuel Villegas was killed in a reported shootout at the height of a sting on Thursday.
Villegas was categorized as a pusher and user in the drug watchlist of Barangay Parang, said Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, director of the Eastern Police District.
Senior Superintendent Lorenzo Holanday, Marikina police chief, ordered the bust following reports that he was behind the proliferation of shabu in Barangay Parang and nearby areas. – Romina Cabrera, Ghio Ong, Perseus Echeminada, Non Alquitran