Cop killed in Kiblawan ambush

A POLICEMAN was killed in an ambush staged by unidentified armed men in Barangay Kimlawis, Kiblawan town in Davao del Sur Thursday morning.

Superintendent Marcial Magistrado, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO), identified the victim as Police Officer 1 (PO1) Rommel Paccial, of the Davao Sur Provincial Public Safety Company (DSPPSC) assigned at the Kiblawan Police Station.

Magistrado said DSPPSC personnel led by Inspector Efren Luzon were conducting patrol in Kiblawan, when some five armed men attacked them in Sitio Nabol around 7:45 a.m.

Initial investigation from the Kiblawan Police Station showed Paccial along with Luzon were onboard a Kiblawan porper-bound mobile patrol bearing plate number SKJ 642, driven by PO1 Ronald Buhat, when attacked.

Magistrado said Paccial was hit in the chest and was declared dead on arrival at Davao del Sur Provincial Hospital around 8:45 a.m. while their mobile patrol bore bullet holes from undetermined firearms.

"For now, we could not yet confirm the suspects behind the crime. We're still waiting for other updates from the Kiblawan Police Station," Magistrado said.

According to Senior Inspector Arnold Absin, chief of the Kiblawan Police Station, they are now conducting investigation to determine the identities and also the motive of the suspects. (ICT)