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Thursday, January 29, 2004
Region’s most wanted running for vice mayor
By Harley Palangchao
THE most wanted person in the region with a P1 million price on his head is seeking reelection as vice mayor of remote Lubuagan town in the province of Kalinga.
Kalinga Gov. Macario Duguiang confirmed Tuesday night that Corey Dickpus, the region’s number one most wanted, has filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for a re-election bid although it was not immediately ascertained under what party he is running.
Duguiang said officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Kalinga province are studying the probability of disqualifying Dickpus because of a string of criminal charges lodged against him.
Dickpus had been tagged as the local version of Robin Hood for sharing his loot with the poor people of Lubuagan and neighboring towns of Kalinga. He is the younger brother of Mayor Johnny Dickpus of Lubuagan.
Asked about Corey’s chances of winning in the May 2004 elections, Duguiang said the fugitive politician still has the solid support of his village mates, whom he claimed, are always ready to protect him from being arrested.
He, however, said Corey’s opponent could also win because "the world of the wanted politician is becoming smaller and smaller since the police are hot on his trail. Of course, Corey cannot conduct campaign sorties in any areas he wanted to visit because of the fact that he is a wanted person."
At least nine Comelec checkpoints were already set up in the entire Kalinga province with close to 40 heavily-armed policemen manning them.
Chief Supt. Rowland Albano, director of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera Administrative Region (PRO-CAR), meanwhile, ordered the formation of a new task force to hunt down Dickpus - dead or alive.
This developed even as several attempts to arrest Corey turned futile. A score of policemen was already killed while tailing him.
In August 2002, three members of the elite PNP Special Action Force based in Camp Crame were killed in a bloody ambush while conducting surveillance operations in an area where Corey was reportedly hiding.
Cordillera police said Corey was the alleged mastermind of the ambush.
Senior Supt. Paul Mascarinas, former Kalinga police chief, also admitted that the PNP is having a difficult time arresting the elusive suspect following reports the latter is already out of the province.
The fact that authorities have no complete dossier on Corey also confounded the problem on how he could be arrested, observers noted. Only a photocopy of Corey’s mug shot is available at the regional police command.
(January 29, 2004 issue)
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