BATANGAS CITY—Authorities in Southern Tagalog have launched a manhunt for a wanted criminal and his companion who allegedly shot dead a police officer and a Philippine Coast Guard personnel on a boat bound for Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro.
Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) police director Chief Supt. Benito Estipona identified the victims as Police Officer 2 Sherwin Reyes, a member of the Regional Public Safety Battalion in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region, and PO2 Romeo Bulaklak of the PSG.
Estipona said it was still not clear why Reyes was at the port in Batangas City on Tuesday noon, when the police officer chanced upon Manny Datingaling, a wanted person by the Mimaropa police for the crimes of murder and rape.
Estipona said Reyes recognized Datingaling and took his chance to arrest the suspected criminal and his companion, whose identity was unknown. They boarded MV Falcon, a passenger motorboat bound for Puerto Galera around 12:15 p.m. where Reyes was assigned.
“The boat was already in the sea waters of Oriental Mindoro when the shooting happened,” Estipona said.
Batangas police chief Supt. Nestor Torre III said Reyes, who was reportedly unarmed at the time, sought help from the coast guard in arresting the suspects.
He said the police officer recovered a .38-cal. gun each from Datingaling and his companion, before they were handcuffed.
Quoting the other boat passengers, Torre said one of the suspects asked the police officer to loosen his handcuff but suddenly drew another gun kept in his back and shot the two officers in the head.
The suspects commandeered the boat and forced the captain to bring them back to Batangas City. They disembarked at Leah Beach in Barangay (village) Tabangao and fled, said Torre.
The boat captain then steered the vessel back to the port. No one else was harmed.
Estipona wondered why the officers failed to find the third gun of the suspects.
“Didn’t the port authorities inspect the passengers if they were armed?” he also asked, noting that the incident occurred within the election gun ban period, which ends Wednesday.