3 dead in Laguna drug operations, gunfights

SAN PEDRO CITY—Separate cases of shootings in Laguna province left three people dead, two of them drug suspects slain in a gunfight with police.

In Lumban town, drug suspect Jeremy Villegas was killed in a buy-bust operation in the village of Maytalang I around 4:35 a.m. on Friday.

Senior Supt. Eleazar Matta, Laguna police director, in a text message, said Villegas, alias “Jengjeng or Jingjing” ranked fifth on the police’s list of high-value targets in the drug trade in the province.

Villegas was also a member of the Papera-Rana Group involved in drugs and gun-running.

He faced an arrest warrant for drug pushing and was wanted for frustrated murder of a police officer in a previous operation.

.45-caliber

Matta said Villegas suddenly pulled a .45-caliber pistol from a sling bag and fired just as police officers were about to arrest him during the sting operation.

Police shot back and killed him instantly.

Aside from the gun that the suspect had used, police also recovered a shotgun from the scene.

They also found some 50 grams of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) worth about P200,000.

In Calamba City, suspect Mauro Sandoval Jr., of Victoria town, was killed in a clash with police around 10:20 p.m. on Thursday in the village of Parian.

Gunshots

Matta said policemen on patrol heard gunshots being fired and responded to the commotion, only to find two people, Lyza Cunanan, 38, and Bryan Alcasabas, 32, shot.

They also saw Sandoval, who fired at the officers as he fled.

Police returned fire and hit Sandoval, who died in a narrow alley in the area.

Cunanan died on the spot while Alcasabas was taken to St. John the Baptist Medical Center for treatment.

Police are still investigating the relationship between the three slain suspects.

Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde maintained on Thursday that while there have been 5,760 deaths in the campaign against drugs, almost all police antinarcotic operations were compliant with human rights standards.

On Thursday’s Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum in Makati City, Albayalde shared the latest figures in the war on drugs based on the PNP’s records.

“More than half of the country is currently drug-affected. Of the 42,044 barangays nationwide, 23,262 are categorized as drug-affected,” he said. —MARICAR CINCO WITH REPORT FROM JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE