Cop shot dead as he was jogging in Negros Occidental town

CEBU CITY –– A policeman, who was jogging in a reclaimed lot in Pontevedra town, Negros Occidental, was gunned down by a still-unknown assailant in Barangay 1-Poblacion at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec.  22.

Police Staff Sergeant Ildefonso Rivera Casugod, 37, suffered a bullet wound in the head.

He was rushed to the Bago City District Hospital, but did not make it alive, said Capt. Hancel Lumandaz, Pontevedra police chief.

Based on the investigation, Casugod was jogging at a reclamation area with Pontevedra Mayor Jose Maria Alonso and two other companions when the gunman walked up to the victim from behind and shot him.

The assassin, who wore a face mask, hooded jacket, and black jogging pants, walked towards a waiting scooter and escaped.

The mayor said in an interview that he usually meets with fellow joggers at the reclamation area about four times a week and had just spoken to Casugod shortly before the incident happened.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson hoped the perpetrators would be arrested.

“Justice has to be given to the family of the slain policeman,” he said.

The assassination of Casugod came after S/Sgt. Bernie Sales, an intelligence officer of the Sagay City Police Station, was also shot dead in Cadiz City, on Nov. 26.

Col. Romy Palgue, Negros Occidental police director, believed communist rebels were behind the killing of Casugod.

“Policemen should be vigilant, especially that the Communist Party of the Philippines is marking its 52nd founding anniversary on Dec. 26,” he said.