PDEA mourns death of antinarcotics agent

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)

MANILA, Philippines—Flags at all National and Regional offices of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency were flown at half-staff as the agency mourns the death of its officer who was gunned down in Agusan del Norte, a PDEA official said Friday.

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac Jr. said Intelligence Officer 2 Louie John Giberson, 31, was shot dead inside his black Mitsubishi Lancer Sedan (GPH 360) at the Interior Road between Purok 2 and Purok 3, Barangay (village) Kauswagan, Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte last Wednesday.

In a phone interview, PDEA spokesman Derrick Carreon said the agency was supposed to conduct a buy bust operation on a drug transaction hatched by Giberson for 30 grams of shabu with a suspected pusher identified as Abul Mamao, “but something went wrong.”

“The deal wasn’t consummated,” he said.

The PDEA said that Giberson was with a confidential informant and another unidentified person when the attack was staged.

Two hours later, PDEA Regional Office 13 under Director Joel Plaza received a phone call from the Cabadbaran City Police Station informing the duty officer of a shooting incident along Kauswagan village where the slain victim was identified as Giberson.

“Authorities found Giberson’s lifeless body with gunshot wounds inside his vehicle. A concerned citizen reportedly saw the incident saying that unidentified persons shot Giberson and immediately fled the scene,” Cacdac said, adding that a follow-up investigation is in progress, to identify the perpetrators.

Carreon said the PDEA has yet to confirm what happened to the two others who were with Giberson during the incident which transpired around 8:30 p.m. based on police reports.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of one of my men,” the PDEA chief lamented, as he strongly condemned the brutal killing.

Giberson belonged to the Drug Enforcement Officers’ Basic Course (DEOBC) Class 2006-01 “Unang Sinag” of the PDEA Academy.