Drug suspect ‘killed’ in police ops stayed alive for 3 hours

Crime scene investigation: Drug suspect killed in anti-drug operations (RADYO INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA —  It’s another case of “Lazarus” in Manila, for about three hours.

Another man reportedl y “killed” in a police operation in Tondo, turned out to be alive on Thursday afternoon.

“Buhay daw e (he’s alive),” operatives of Manila Police District’s scene of the crime operatives told the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the driver of St. Rich Funeral parlor at Parola past 5 p.m.

The man, who has not been identified, was reported “killed” in a “police operation,” the homicide investigator, SPO2 Richard Escarlan, said in a separate interview.

SPO2 Gene Reyes of Moriones police station phoned in the report to the MPD homicide section at 4:50 p.m.

Before proceeding to the crime site at the Parola compound holding area, Escarlan instructed the funeral parlor to retrieve the body.

But when a representative of the funeral parlor arrived at the scene to take the body, SOCO personnel said the man was taken to the Gat Andres Bonifcacio Hospital “because he’s still alive.”

Hospital reports showed that the man was taken to the hospital at 5:14 p.m. He remained under observation at 8 p.m. before expiring at 8:20 p.m.

This was the second time that a man reported “killed” in a police operation turned out to be alive.

At 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, Malate police also called the homicide unit to report that two men were “DOs” or dead-on-the-spot on Aldecoa Street. They reportedly died after fighting cops in an alleged buy-bust operation.

But one of them, Francisco Santiago Jr., played dead until the media arrived. Santiago said there was no buy-bust.  SFM