ANOTHER operative of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 was killed in Barangay Perrelos, Carcar City past noon yesterday, just 12 days after his colleague and classmate was shot dead in Cebu City.
The fatality was identified by the police as PDEA 7 agent Von Rian Tecson. He succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds in the head and other parts of his body.
The 41-year-old agent was on the front passenger's seat of a black Ford Ranger when he was ambushed at 12:57 p.m. His driver Arnold Bauyaban, who suffered a graze wound in the right thigh, was able to run.
Police are looking for more than four assailants who were riding two motorcycles. The perpetrators also have cohorts on board a sports utility vehicle (SUV).
Tecson was able to retaliate and hit the gunman, who tried to open the Ford Ranger's door. The wounded assailant was rescued by persons on board a maroon SUV, which made its way back on the northbound lane.
The ambush-slay of Tecson happened four days after the burial of fellow PDEA 7 agent Baby "Earl" Rallos, who was gunned down by riding-in-tandem assailants while he was driving his car on Villalon Drive in Cebu City last July 27. His killers remain at large.
Tecson was one of the 91 PDEA 7 personnel who swapped posts with 89 personnel of PDEA Western Visayas last Aug. 2.
A PDEA officer, who requested anonymity, said Tecson came from Cebu City to attend a court hearing but it was postponed. The agent had other scheduled hearings on drug cases this week.
Tecson's brother believes the attack has to do with the PDEA officer's work as a team leader in anti-drug operations.
SPO1 Von Tecson of the Carcar City Police Station told reporters that his brother had mentioned receiving death threats.
The unknown sender of the text message, he said, warned Tecson and Rallos that their group would avenge the arrests made by the two PDEA agents. The threats were received weeks before Rallos was shot dead.
Tecson and Rallos finished the Drug Enforcement Officers' Basic Course Class 2007 together.
Tecson's father, Benedicto, said he was not informed of any threat, saying his son kept things to himself. The agent left an eight-year-old child.
Bauyaban told the police that he saw two motorcycles positioned on both sides of the vehicle, but he failed to clearly see the riders' faces. He said one of the culprits is a woman.
The ambush happened some 100 meters from Tecson's house in Sitio Katugasan, Perrelos. His vehicle is reportedly equipped with a dashboard camera and cameras at the back.
Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Manuel Javier Abrugena ordered a manhunt against the assailants and to check the hospitals as the wounded gunman may have sought treatment.
He also instructed investigators to determine the motive behind the attack and find witnesses who can identify the culprits.
A Facebook Live video of Superbalita Cebu showed that more than 30 empty shells and slugs were found in the crime scene and were gathered by a Scene of the Crime Operation (Soco) team. They also found a cap, mask and sandals.
Meanwhile, in Cebu City Hall, Mayor Tomas Osmena said the City will support the programs and projects of the new PDEA 7 chief, lawyer Wardley Getalla, who paid him a courtesy visit yesterday.
"(He's) very cordial, and he's got a problem. They're not from here and they don't speak the language so I said we'll help you. He's doing a certain project on rehab and I want to put up a K9 unit, they said they will help me," OsmeƱa said. (KAL, With RVC)