THREE persons of interest are being investigated by the Benguet Provincial Police Office (BPPO) following the shooting of Senior Police Office 4 Nicholas Yango during an anti-illegal logging operation at Barangay Papa, Sablan, Benguet on January 23.
Senior Superintendent Lyndon Mencio, Benguet PPO provincial director, said the investigation is in accordance with the directive of Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-COR) director Chief Superintendent Rolando Nana to look closely into the identities of the alleged suspects.
Operatives from the Sablan Municipal Police Office earlier conducted monitoring in the evening after receiving a message of an anti-illegal logging activity at the communal forest.
“While our police were conducting the anti-illegal logging operation at the communal forest at Barangay Papa, one or two armed men fired at our operatives who were scouring the area to look for possible evidences, which resulted in the shooting of SPO 4 Yango in the head resulting to his immediate death,” Mencio explained.
Newly installed Sablan Chief Senior Inspector Cyril Lawrence Tubongbanua said after the incident and the processing of the crime scene, police left the area.
“Our police were looking for evidences of cut logs which turned out to be negative, and while they were validating, this was the time when shots were fired,” Tubongbanua said.
Yango was supposed to retire from service next year.
The police officer will be receiving Medalya ng Kadakilaan or the Bronze Cross aside from getting all the benefits given by the Philippine National Police to its personnel who are killed in the line of duty.