A PERSON who was identified as third in the drug watch list in Mandaue Police Station 1 was shot inside his house in Barangay Guizo last Wednesday night.
Godofredo Bas Jr., 36, was sleeping inside his hut with his live-in partner, Rosita, when the gunman entered about 9:10 p.m. The couple had been staying along F.B. Cabahug St.
SPO2 Renato Canja of Police Station 1 said they have not received information that the victim received any death threats, except that he was a suspected drug pusher.
“Mamaligyaay gyud ni siya (He sold illegal drugs),” Canja said.
In a report from TV5’s Aksyon Bisaya, Rosita said an unidentified man entered their house and asked his husband if he was “Gody.” When the victim answered yes, Rosita said the suspect immediately shot him.
Rosita admitted that his husband previously used drugs, but he already surrendered.
Police Chief Insp. Michaelangelo Beltran, chief of Police Station 1, said the suspect surrendered last July 29 after police visited his house during their Tokhang operation.
Canja said Bas suffered a gunshot wound in the head.
The victim was brought to the Mandaue City Hospital, but was eventually transferred to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City where he was declared dead.
Canja said an empty shell was recovered by the Scene of the Crime Operatives. Canja was not able to mention the type of firearm used by the assailant.
He said Bas was previously arrested due to robbery. The police will still have to check if the case was dismissed.
Last Tuesday afternoon, a suspected drug pusher was also killed in a buy-bust operation after he allegedly resisted arrest and pulled out his gun in Sitio Latasan, Barangay Labogon.
Brothers
In A. Lopez, Barangay Calamba yesterday afternoon, a man was killed when his younger brother “accidentally” pulled the trigger of the gun they were fighting over.
Police identified the victim as Edgardo Opon Jr., 23, while his brother Edster Opon, 19, was the owner of firearm.
“They’re both drug users. The suspect got angry when the victim touched his gun,” SPO1 Raffy Paelmao of the Homicide section said.
At around 12:40 p.m., as alleged by their brother Marvin, he saw the two having a fight over the gun and then it turned into a commotion when Edgardo tried to wrestle the gun from Edster.
Edster then pulled the trigger and managed to shoot the victim on the head and the chest on the ground floor of their two-storey house.
However, Paelmao said they are looking deeper into the crime.
“Naa silay gikaawayan nga dili ra kutob sa pusil. Naa pa nay laing rason (They were fighting something other than the gun. There’s another reason),” Paelmao told Sun.Star Cebu.
He said that it was a revolver type of firearm, judging from the wounds on Edgardo.
Homicide investigators are also looking into the possibility that the two were high on drugs by the time the crime happened.
PO1 Macro Lanorias said Edgardo has a mental disorder.
“Nag-away na na sila sa gawas, unya pagsulod didto na napusilan. Ang maguwang naay diperensiya sa iyang hunahuna (They were already fighting outside their house and when they went inside, the elder was shot. He had a mental disorder),” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
They were already subjected to the Oplan Tokhang, but had not submitted themselves to the police.
The gun was not found in the house and was suspected to be with Edster who is still at large.
Recovered from the scene were some sniffing paraphernalia.
Rally
More than 20 Political Science students of the University of San Carlos (USC) conducted a “silent rally” in front of their main campus to protest the increasing cases of extrajudicial killings in the country.
In front of the USC main building, political science students called upon President Rodrigo Duterte to uphold the rule of law and respect the rights of the accused.
Grace Magalzo-Bualat, chair of the USC’s Political Science Department, told reporters that the students who attended the rally came on their own accord.
Bualat said their silent protest was a message to the Duterte administration that lives matter in the war against illegal drugs.
“While we support the war on drugs, human rights must not be compromised,” Bualat said.
She explained that the campaign against illegal drugs should not be treated with just one solution as the problem itself is multifaceted.
“Drug use can be traced from different problems such as conflict in the family, poverty and the lack of access to opportunities. Solving these problems should not involve killing drug pushers and addicts but addressing them,” Bualat said.
Bualat also urged the Duterte administration to implement the “change” he wants for the country without resulting to extrajudicial killings.
The group’s silent protest eventually reached social media.
Even though netizens praised the group for what they’re doing, some criticized their move.
Some netizens criticized the group’s rally, adding that the students should have spent their time in class rather than in the streets.
One netizen, Dan Christian Estenzo Ramos, described the group of students as “brave” and criticized netizens for issuing bad comments against the students.
Some netizens like Ramos supported the group for standing their ground on a very important issue.