Cop on AWOL, companion killed in buy bust operation in Bulacan town

SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan—A policeman classified as absent without leave (AWOL) and an unidentified accomplice were killed Friday noon after they engaged the local police in a firefight following a drug buy bust operation here.

PO1 Edison Liwag, formerly assigned at the provincial public safety command in Malolos City, was killed along with an unidentified man, said Senior Supt. Ferdinand Divina, Bulacan police director.

The police had put Liwag under surveillance for the drug trade allegedly taking place at his home in Barangay (village) Tucod.

Police arrested Liwag’s girlfriend who was not named in the police report. She allegedly took part in the drug transactions involving sachets of suspected shabu (metamphetamine hydrochloride), which were at the crime scene, police said.
The police also recovered a caliber .38 revolver and a 9 mm Beretta hand gun. Carmela Reyes-Estrope/RAM