3 SWAT men wounded in clash with armed group in Sorsogon

NAGA CITY – Three members of a Philippine National Police’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team were wounded in a clash with a still unidentified armed group of civilians on Friday afternoon in Sorsogon City, police said.

Inspector Mahalaleel Palmones of the Sorsogon police confirmed in a text message that a SWAT team under the Sorsogon City Police Station was ambushed by an undetermined number of armed men in Sitio (sub-village) Bato, Bacon District, Sorsogon City at around 4:45 p.m. Friday.

Chief Inspector Juancho Balte Ibis, Police Officer 2 Nelson E. Dioquino and PO1 Eric A. Eloquiro were wounded in the firefight which lasted for almost an hour, he said.

Superintendent Edgardo Ardales, the city’s police chief, immediately led another team from city police station to provide reinforcement and prevent any more casualties, he said.

A hot pursuit operation was immediately launched when the armed perpetrators escaped after the incident, he added.