2 killed, 39 arrested in Bohol police operations

Cousins Homer Guimalan and Juan Paolo Cloma were among the 39 suspects arrested in a police crackdown on Thursday in Bohol. PHOTO by Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — Two persons were killed and 39 were arrested in a string of dawn raids conducted by the Bohol police on Thursday.

Police Senior Superintendent Angeles Geñorga, Jr., director of the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO), said the synchronized operations in 47 towns and 1 city targeted shabu dealers and illegal firearms owners across the province.

The operation, which was planned for eight months, resulted in one of the biggest police crackdowns in the province  conducted in  eight hours.

In Panglao town, cousins Homer Guimalan and Juan Paolo Cloma, were arrested  in a buy-bust operation on Thursday  afternoon.

Guimalan, 45, and Cloma, 30, both residents of Barangay Poblacion in Panglao town, were Oplan Tokhang surrenderees in 2016.

Seized from the suspects were a .22 caliber pistol, 15 sachets of suspected shabu (chrystal meth) with an estimated value of P110,000, and several drug paraphernalia.

Guimalan, a former seaman, didn’t deny that he sells shabu, but he clarified that he had only three sachets in his possession.

“I have only three sachets since someone bought today. I have to deny that the others sachets are mine because that is the truth. It is not easy to deny the truth,” Guimalan said.

The Panglao Police said that the suspects’ customers were mostly tourists in Panglao.

In Dauis town, Julius Tahadlangit, 34, was arrested in Barangay Tinago, after a search revealed the drug operation. Police seized two firearms, a grenade, 16 sachets of suspected shabu, and several drug paraphernalia.

According to the police, Tahadlangit was allegedly a drug peddler working for SPO2 Adonis Dumpit who was killed in buy-bust operation last June. His brother, Sergio, who was also reportedly Dumpit’s cohort, had bolted in a detention facility but was rearrested after two days.

Barangay Tinago was among the 321 drug-cleared villages in Bohol by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). A village is declared drug-affected if there is a presence of drug users, drug pushers, drug dens,  and shabu laboratories.

Meanwhile, two people were killed in the police operations — Jeffrey Vaño in Carmen town and Jaime Olalo in Anda town.

Vaño allegedly shot the arresting officers who were about to serve a search warrant against him at the residence of his brother-in-law.  Police found four large sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated street value of P1.2 million, according to Geñorga.

Vaño was arrested in 2016 for alleged possession during a raid in Carmen town.

On the other hand, Olalo was shot dead by police in Anda town after he allegedly shot police officers who were about to serve a search warrant for illegal firearms at his residence.  He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

Geñorga said that with the arrest of the suspects, the crime rate in Bohol would decline.

“Ang expectation natin ay bumaba ang crime rate because  yung  ibang  na suspek ay nahuli natin. Normally kasi yung  ibang crimes ay connected  to illegal drugs. So, ang  focus ng gating operation ay illegal drugs at illegal  firearms.  These are instruments sa crime.  Sana expectations natin ay bumaba ang crime rate natin,” he said.

(Our expectation is for the crime rate to go down because some of the suspects were already arrested. In most cases, other crimes are also connected to illegal drugs, so our focus now are illeglal drugs and illegal firearms. Our expectation is that this will bring down the crime rate).

Geñorga also said that the drug supply in the province has significantly dropped.

“Masasabi natin kumukonti ang supply (We can say that the supply has dropped). Sa supply reduction we are winning,” Geñorga said. “And another indicator ay price ng shabu (the price of shabu).”

In the past, he said 1 gram of shabu costs around P800 to P1,000. Today, the peak price for 1 gram is P15,000.

“Ganun na po kahirap ng supply natin. Iyan ag epekto na 2 years na campaign ng war on drugs, nakita natin ang epekto sa mga indicator na yun (That shows how supply has significantly dropped. That is the effect of the 2-years campaign against illegal drugs),” Geñorga added.

Bohol was ranked first in Central Visayas and fifth in the country in terms of illegal drugs prevalence in villages, according to PDEA. /ee