After Bato warning, 4 are killed

ILOILO CITY—After the Western Visayas police office vowed to step up its campaign against illegal drugs, four drug suspects fell in separate operations in Guimaras and Iloilo provinces in less than 24 hours.

Michael Angelo Abebiner, Paul Centeno, Michael Huesca and Renante Tanaleon were killed in separate clashes with the police in the towns of Ajuy and Concepcion and Passi City in Iloilo and Buenavista in Guimaras between 6 p.m. on Wednesday and 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The intensified operation came after Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa gave a negative assessment of the regional police command’s performance in the war on drugs.

Dela Rosa on Wednesday gave Western Visayas, Bicol and the National Capital Region a grade of “barely passing” in the PNP’s Oplan Double Barrel campaign against drugs.

Police chiefs in these regions face ouster from their posts if their performance does not improve, according to Dela Rosa.

Supt. Gilbert Gorero, chief of the public information office of the police regional office in Western Visayas, appealed for support from the community in attaining their goal to win the war on drugs by the end of the year.

Gorero said results of the campaign against drugs of the regional police force “had been low in terms of suspects killed.”

He said the Western Visayas police was “fortunate” that of 341 suspects arrested since

July 1, “only three fought back and were killed.”

“Our statistics on successful arrests of drug personalities are  comparatively satisfactory,” said Gorero.

Since July 1, 17,105 drug users and pushers surrendered while 341 “high-value tagets” have been arrested in Western Visayas, according to Gorero.

Three suspects had been killed in police operations, among the fewest nationwide.

But the numbers are expected to rise.

Abebiner was shot dead in a clash with police in Concepcion town, Iloilo, past 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Chief Insp. Jonathan Pinuela, Concepcion police chief, said Abebiner tried to flee from the operatives but was cornered in a cemetery.

Pinuela said Abebiner tried to shoot it out with operatives who fired back and killed him.

Tanaleon was killed at

5:45 a.m. on Thursday in Buenavista town, Guimaras.

Insp. Raymund Cruz, police chief of Buenavista, said Tanaleon was among those who surrendered during Oplan Tokhang, a campaign that involved policemen knocking on houses of known drug personalities to ask them to surrender and change their ways.

Instead of heeding the police appeal, Cruz said Tanaleon just transferred his operation from San Lorenzo to Buenavista. He was shot after he tried to shoot at the operatives.

Past noon on Thursday, Huesca was killed after he also fought with operatives during a buy-bust operation.

The fourth fatality was Centeno who was shot by police operatives around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in Ajuy, Iloilo, during a buy-bust operation.