In Bohol, drug war kills 61 but no case filed at CHR

Neighbors take a peek at the wake in May of 22-year-old John Jason Montes, who was killed in the war on drugs in Bohol province along with suspected drug lord Rowen “Yawa” Secretaria. —TONEE DESPOJO/CEBU DAILY NEWS

TAGBILARAN CITY—At least 61 drug suspects had been killed in the province of Bohol but not a single case for extrajudicial killing has been filed at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) here.

Based on records of the Bohol provincial police office, 39 drug pushers were killed by still unidentified suspects while 22 others were killed in clashes with policemen.

But the only complaint received by the CHR was not on the killings but on an allegedly illegal search conducted by the police, said CHR-Bohol head Alfonso Bayocot Jr.

“Maybe, it is true that the victims were drug pushers or the relatives were too scared to file a case,” Bayocot said.

The absence of complaints, however, will not stop the CHR from conducting an investigation on the killings of four drug suspects—Sherwin Bautista, Mario Ramos, Conchito Escabas and Alma Sabejon who are believed to be victims of extrajudicial killings.

Although there is no request from the victims’ relatives, Bayocot said the CHR has the power to conduct an investigation if the circumstances warranted it.

Bautista, tagged as a “Level 1” drug lord in Bohol, was killed by unidentified men on July 7 in front of a public school where he had just dropped off his daughter.

Ramos, a suspected drug dealer in Ubay town, was killed in a buy-bust operation on July 4. Ubay police said Ramos pulled out a handgun and fired at a customer that he suspected to be an undercover policeman.

Escabas, a suspected drug pusher and gun-for-hire, was killed in a police buy-bust operation in Loon town on July 12.

Sabejon, alias “Madam,” was a suspected drug financier in Clarin town who was killed by unidentified gunmen three days after refusing to surrender to the police.

Aurie Ayeng, 65, said she lost interest in seeking justice for her son, Arlie Ayeng, 23, who was killed on Aug. 1 by unidentified men.

“Filing a complaint is too tiring and I know nothing will happen because I am poor,” she said.

Ayeng said Arlie went to his half-brother, Herculano Dopeño Jr., 28, at Dopeño’s boarding house on Pamaong Street, Barangay Cogon, Tagbilaran City, to drop off his laundry when unidentified men barged into the room and shot the two. They died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Arlie arrived in Bohol on July 6 from Panabo, Davao del Norte.

Ayeng said she had asked her son to surrender and stop selling drugs as the Duterte administration’s war on drugs escalated.

Only Dopeño didn’t surrender to the police.

Ayeng’s eldest son, Mark, was also killed by unidentified men in November 2015. She believed it was a case of mistaken identity.

Ayeng didn’t file a complaint at CHR for her sons. “I have offered their fate to God,” she said.

According to Supt. Ricky Delilis, Bohol police spokesman, the provincial police is investigating the killings of drug suspects that are not related to police operations.

The investigation, he said, is focused on the summary killings of drug personalities by unidentified assailants.

Delilis said most of those killed were on the police list of drug personalities and were known in their communities as drug pushers.

The others could be victims of summary executions by drug lords.