TWO high-value targets (HVT) in Bacolod City died while four others, including a station commander, were injured in two separate shootout incidents at Sitio Sibucao, in Barangay Banago, Bacolod City Thursday, May 24.
Killed were Ramy Poja, 36, most wanted person of Police Station 3 and one of the HVT drug suspects in Western Visayas; and his cousin Roberto Lim, both residents of the said village.
Wounded were Senior Inspector Victor Paulino, head of Police Station 3; and Rusty Constantino.
Also wounded were Erlinda Cordova and her son Jhodan Cordova, 20, both hit by stray bullets.
Early Thursday, May 24, personnel of Police Station 3 responded to the area around 12:35 a.m. after receiving information from a concerned citizen about an illegal gambling activity that led to the apprehension of four persons, who were caught playing a card game locally known as "pusoy."
Police confiscated from them a set of playing cards, and bet money amounting to P105.
Also recovered from Jerry Pama was a small sachet of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and drug paraphernalia.
While police were about to leave the area, they encountered suspected members of a drug group led by Poja that resulted to the first shootout.
Poja's group allegedly fired at the police officers that injured Paulino and also hit the mother and son.
A firefight ensued between them for several minutes.
At that time, authorities were verifying if Poja and some of his companion were wounded, and that one of them died in the shootout as they saw bloodstains in the area.
This prompted Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), to direct his men to monitor all hospitals in the city for a possible confinement of the wounded suspects.
Pursuit operations were conducted against the suspects.
They then received information that the suspects are still in the village, hiding at a house.
Joint operatives of Police Station 3, Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) led by Superintendent Leonardo Borromeo, Bacolod City Mobile Force Company, and City Intelligence Unit led by Inspector Adrian James Albaytar went to the area around 4:20 p.m. to verify the information.
When the police arrived, residents in the area, including Poja's family, were hostile with them.
Authorities tried to encourage the suspects, who were allegedly hiding at the house of a certain Salvador Poja, to surrender but they instead fired at them.
The house owner, who was not there when the incident happened, may be held criminally liable for obstruction of justice.
Another firefight ensued between them that resulted in the deaths of Poja and his cousin. Constantino was also injured in the shootout.
Poja is the third wanted person who was killed in a police operation this year. He has an arrest warrant for illegal drugs.
A report also claimed that a doctor, whom Ebreo refused to name, was allegedly at the house, treating Poja's wounds that he got from the earlier encounter.
Police are still checking his background to verify if he is indeed a doctor.
Police, meanwhile, arrested Poja's girlfriend, Claudine Bindol, and a certain Cyril Jarina, who were also inside the house.
Police recovered from the scene a chamber loaded Spyke tactical 5.56 caliber rifle with a long magazine loaded with 20 rounds, an Armscor .45 caliber pistol with magazine, big plastic of suspected shabu weighing 50 grams amounting to P840,000, drug paraphernalia, and a cellular phone.
All recovered items were brought to the crime laboratory for examination. Nobody from the government side was injured during the second encounter.
As this developed, tension arose between Poja's family and the police when the latter did not allow them at first to see the suspect's body.
While the bodies were removed from the crime scene to a funeral car, a sort of commotion and verbal argument happened between Poja's family and the police.
However, due to the strict security measures in the area, Poja's family and even the residents, who were believed to be protectors of Poja, were subdued by the authorities.
Meanwhile, Ebreo, in a press conference at the BCPO headquarters around 10 p.m. last night, confirmed the death and neutralization of Poja, the leader of a drug group in the city.
Ebreo said Poja has gunshot wounds on both hands and shoulders based on his physical wounds but the suspect will be subjected to the autopsy.
"We cannot say if there was an overkill until results of the autopsy came out," he added.
Ebreo said they are also aware of reports claiming that Poja has been protected by the community in the area. However, he said that police is just doing their job to arrest him at all costs.
He said he cannot divulge yet the number of the remaining members of Poja's drug group but there were two fatalities already.
With Poja's death, Ebreo said the illegal drug trade in the city will be reduced because one of the sources was already hunted down in the police operation.
Ebreo warned those who continue engaging in the illegal drug trade to stop because police will not tolerate their activities.
"We still need the cooperation of the community, barangay officials, and other sectors to continue the fight against illegal drugs," Ebreo said.
On February 25, agents of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) in Negros Occidental, along with operatives from City Drug Enforcement Unit (Cdeu), Regional Intelligence Unit, and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Bacolod, swooped down Poja's house to serve him an arrest warrant, however, he was able to evade arrest by allegedly throwing two explosives at the authorities, though it did not explode.
The police were also able to arrest two members of Poja's drug group, Roberto Rodriguez Jr., who poured gasoline on his body and torched himself, and Steve Libo-on, who was still inside the house during the operation.
However, Rodriguez later died at a hospital due to severe burns.
Operatives confiscated four sachets of suspected “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride), drug paraphernalia, firearms, ammunition, and explosives at that time.
Pdea-Negros Occidental Officer-In-Charge Grace Cruz and her two agents were also injured after they sustained first degree burns.
On March 29, Poja's younger brother Rex, 36, of Barangay Estefania, an HVT, and right-hand Mario Ferrer, 43, of Barangay Banago were arrested in a drug bust at Murcia Road in Barangay Singcang-Airport.
Poja and Ferrer on board a pick-up truck sold a shabu to a police agent for P1,000.
Police recovered from them six sachets of suspected shabu amounting to P250,000, the P1,000 marked money and a pick-up truck.
Ebreo said they have been monitoring Poja and his group for quite some time even before Chief Superintendent Cesar Binag, director of Police Regional Office (PRO) in Western Visayas directed all units in the region to intensify their monitoring for the immediate arrest of Poja.
On the other hand, Ebreo said Paulino and other policemen who were involved in the police operation will be commended for their accomplishment.
Ebreo was glad that nobody got injured in the second encounter.
He also thanked the BCPO personnel for their efforts, eagerness, and dedication in their line of duties.