Batangas village chief slain in buy-bust ops

SAN PEDRO CITY – A village chief in Laurel town in Batangas province was killed in a police anti-drug operation on Wednesday while two village officials were arrested in Silang town in Cavite province for trying to bribe a police officer on Monday.

Barangay Captain Charlie Sanchez Macapuno of Poblacion 1, Laurel town, was the target of a buy-bust operation in Barangay San Gabriel around 10:30 p.m., a report from the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon (Calabarzon) police said.

Macapuno allegedly fired at the undercover policemen during the drug transaction, prompting the authorities to shoot him back, police said. He died while being taken to the St. Andrew Hospital in Talisay town.

In Silang, Cavite, Remigio Beberino, 51, the village chief of Paliparan 1 in the adjacent Dasmariñas City, and Luis Sarimos, 64, another village official, were arrested for allegedly trying to bribe the town’s police chief Chief Inspector Lory Tarrazona on Monday.

Police said the two visited Tarrazona’s office to discuss the case of a certain Edgardo Sarimos arrested in Silang on May 26 for allegedly selling illegal drugs.  It was not immediately known how Luis was related to Edgardo.

Beberino and Luis allegedly offered the police chief P200,000 in exchange for lowering Edgardo’s violation into mere possession of illegal drugs. The village officials allegedly even offered to pay half of the amount as “initial payment.”

But Tarrazona refused the money and had both officials arrested.  Maricar Cinco, @maricarcincoINQ, Inquirer Southern Luzon