POLICE killed in an operation Wednesday dawn, June 6, one of the suspects in the killing of Buenavista, Bohol Mayor Ronald Lowell Tirol.
Senior Superintendent Angeles Geñorga, Bohol Provincial Police Office director, identified the fatality as Egmedio Aparece.
"Sinubukan ng ating tropa na pasukoin siya, pero sumigaw na hindi daw siya magpapahuli at nagsimula na siyang nagpaputok (Our team tried to ask him to surrender, but he resisted and started firing)," Geñorga said in a phone interview with SunStar Cebu.
Geñorga said they were able to locate Aparece after they were informed that the latter was spotted in Sitio Sta. Ana, Barangay Concepcion, Danao, an interior town in Bohol.
The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, June 6.
A .45 pistol and a hand grenade were recovered from Aparece, who was identified as the leader of the Aparece Criminal Gang, which has multiple warrants of arrest over several charges.
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Aparece and Elmer Melencion have been charged with murders for their alleged participation in the murder of Tirol inside the public official's cockpit arena on Sunday afternoon, May 27.
Tirol's close-in security was able to identify the two suspects.
Geñorga said his personnel did not stop looking for the suspects.
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A special investigation task group (SITG) was formed to determine the motive behind the attack on the public official.
Geñorga said he had told members of the SITG to conduct a background check on Tirol's past relationships.
Buenavista Police Chief Rully Lauron, for his part, said they received information that Tirol owed a big sum of money to one of his former lovers.
Tirol was not married, but he reportedly bore two children with one of his ex-girlfriends. (KAL/With Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)