CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two persons tagged in criminal activities in Buenavista, Bohol, were killed in an alleged encounter with policemen who were about to serve a search warrant on Thursday.
The two fatalities – Roland Bentillo, of legal age and a resident of Barangay (village) Overland, and Fortunato Demil, 51, of Barangay Nueva Granada, all in Buenavista town – died on the spot of gunshot wounds, a police report said, without mentioning how they were shot and on what parts of their bodies.
There were reports that the suspects were linked to the killing of Agus Lapu-Lapu City barangay chairman Jovencio Lauron, 56, who was killed while on his way to Sagbayan town after arriving in Clarin port last May 3.
But the police chief in Buenavista town said he just heard about their alleged involvement in crimes, but he could not confirm it because the team that led the operation was the Bohol Provincial Intelligence Branch.
Inspector Bernabe Rubio, chief of the Buenavista Police Station, said the operation was conducted at 9:30 a.m. at the house of Bentillo in Overland village by the joint teams of the Bohol Provincial Intelligence Brancg (PIB), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Bohol, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT-Bohol), Clarin Police Station and Buenavista Police station.
Rubio said they were about to serve the search warrant against Bentillo for unlicensed firearms, but when the policemen arrived, Bentillo and Demil were about to leave the house to attend a ‘tigbakay’ or illegal cockfight in another barangay.
When Bentillo and Demil saw the arrival of the police, they reportedly took their guns and engaged the cops in a firefight.
Rubio said Bentillo’s body was found some 300 meters from his house while Demil’s body was around 20 meters house from the house.
Rubio said they recovered .45 guns from the bodies of Bentillo and Demil, magazines and fired cartridges.
The third suspect, 18-year old Edwin Martorillas, was arrested. Martorillas was in the house of Bentillo and he was found possessing nine packs of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).
Rubio said Martorillas claimed that the drugs were left to him by Demil, who was supposed to go with Bentillo to the illegal cockfight.
Martorillas was brought to the Bohol provincial headquarters in Tagbilaran City while the bodies of Bentillo and Demil were brought to a funeral parlor in Getafe town.