THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Western Visayas said on Monday, December 3, that Barangay 16 Chief Nelson Ligaya Jr. who was killed in the said village in Bacolod City over the weekend was not included in their drugs watchlist.
PDEA Western Visayas spokesperson David Garcia said Ligaya has never been included in their list of barangay officials linked to illegal drugs.
“He was never part of the list since the start of the war against narcotics,” he reiterated.
On December 1, Ligaya was having a drinking session with his four friends when he was shot at close range by one of the four assailants on two motorcycles. His companions were unharmed.
Ligaya succumbed to six gunshot wounds. Police recovered from the scene four fired bullets of .45 caliber and three deformed slugs of the same firearm.
Garcia said there are some barangay officials, who were tagged in illegal drugs that were being monitored but he refused to elaborate more on the details.
He also said that the pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte about a village chief allegedly involved in illegal drugs in Bacolod City is true.
The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) had earlier dismissed reports that Ligaya was the village chief involved in illegal drugs, as revealed by Duterte when he visited the city during the 39th MassKara Festival in October. The slain village chief was not part of the BCPO's drugs watchlist.
A Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) was already created to fast-track the ongoing investigation for the early identification and arrest of the perpetrators.
It will be under the supervision of Senior Superintendent Remus Zacarias Canieso, deputy director for operations of Police Regional Office (PRO Western Visayas), along with Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, acting director of BCPO as the SITG Commander. They will be assisted by Chief Inspector Adelon Caacbay of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Bacolod as head of the investigation team.
The SITG will also be composed of support units like the Highway Patrol Group, Provincial Crime Laboratory Office, Provincial Legal Officer, City Intelligence Unit, Investigation and Detective Management Unit of BCPO, and Police Station 1.
Police are eyeing grudge or the victim's unsettled debts as the motives of the incident.
Chief Inspector Sherlock Gabana, public information officer of BCPO, said checking of all establishments and residences fitted with closed-circuit television cameras that may have captured footage of the fleeing suspects that could help in establishing the identity of the suspects is also being undertaken.
All possible angles will be considered to determine the motive behind the killing, he added.
BCPO is encouraging the cooperation of the family members, other witnesses, and the public who might have information that could lead for the early solution of the case.