A STORE owner and his wife allegedly played an active role in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, and that may have led to their deaths.
Surlito, 53, and Alane, 54, Sinugbohan allegedly ratted out drug personalities in their barangay in the southwestern town of Badian, Cebu.
Last Thursday, August 31, past 7 p.m., two masked men barged into the Sinugbohans’ house in Barangay Malabago and shot the couple at close range.
They managed to run outside, but the assailants went after them. The latter didn’t stop shooting until the victims fell and died.
The Sinugbohans’ children and grandchildren who were in the house were not harmed.
Badian Police Chief Bonifacio Pareja said they received information that Surlito and Alane tipped authorities about the drug trafficking activities of suspected pushers, including Malabago Barangay Captain Epifania Divinagracia Alvizo and her cohort Ronan Lastimoso Librando.
Alvizo and Librando were caught by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 7 last July 5 with 750.06 grams of shabu worth P2.1 million.
Pareja said they still have to check if the victims had been deployed as confidential informants.
“We are looking into the possibility that the culprits mistook them as assets active in the anti-illegal drug campaign,” he said in Cebuano.
The victims’ children poured out their grief on the social media networking site Facebook.
“Hinaot pakonsensiyahon mo ug dili mo pakatulgon sa gibuhat sa akong Mama ug Papa (We hope you wouldn’t be able to sleep after what you did to my parents),” wrote the victims’ daughter Darvy. “This is very unjust and an injustice. Wala mi manghilabot ninyo. Akong iampo ang kalag sa akong Mama ug Papa maghasol sa inyong hunahuna karon (We didn’t do anything to you. We hope that our parents’ souls will haunt your thoughts).”
Police recovered two deformed slugs and four empty shells from a .45 pistol at the crime scene.
The couple’s daughter Daisy reported the incident to the police station.
Pareja said that there’s a possibility the culprits are residents of Badian.