2 drug suspects killed in Batangas shootout

SAN PEDRO CITY – Two men were killed in a shootout with anti-drug operatives in Lian town in Batangas province, the regional police chief said on Monday.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, director of the Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon (CALABARZON) police, identified the suspects as Paolo Villapando and Nelson Alab.

He said Villapando was identified as an illegal drug personality in the neighboring Balayan town while Alab had been previously arrested for illegal drugs in Nasugbu town.

In a report, Eleazar said a team from Lian, Nasugbu and the provincial police headquarters conducted a buy-bust operation around 10:40 p.m. Sunday in Barangay (village) Matabungkay.

While the transaction was underway, the suspects allegedly suddenly opened fire but were consequently hit when authorities retaliated. The suspects died while undergoing treatment at Apacible Memorial District Hospital.

Recovered from the suspects were two guns and two sachets of suspected shabu or crystal meth, according to police.   /kga