ANTI-NARCOTICS operatives killed a police officer who allegedly sold shabu on the side in an alleged shootout in Panglao, Bohol at 10:15 p.m. last Thursday.
PO3 Irmon Butil, 35, a member of Lila Municipal Police Station, was still in his complete uniform when he engaged the team of Municipal Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (Maidsotg) in a firefight.
This, as a suspected drug pusher was killed by unidentified men in a northern town of Cebu, while a barangay councilor was caught in southwestern Cebu on the same day.
Butil is the first active cop who got killed in a legitimate operation in Central Visayas since the start of this administration’s war on drugs. Dave Agcol, a former police officer, was killed after he allegedly resisted the team of Regional Special Operations Group in a raid in his Naga City home last Aug. 3. His wife PO3 Maria Genevieve Agcol, an active officer, was arrested.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Chief Supt. Noli Taliño said they are not afraid to go after police officers who are engaged in the illegal drug trade.
Neutralized
“The death of PO3 Butil is a stern warning to everyone that we will not stop until all those involved in illegal drugs are neutralized, including policemen,” he said.
Taliño said the operation against Butil was the result of the arrest of suspected drug queen Melinda Borja and her cohorts Moises Abing, Jaypee Pacot, Florante Estomata and Welbee Caragan.
Seized from the suspects were several packs of shabu and P354,000 in cash believed to be proceeds of the group of Borja, the second biggest drug personality in Bohol, whose distribution covers 50 percent of the province.
Borja told Chief Insp. Jul Jamiri, the tourist police unit chief, that they got their supply from Butil, who also served as her protector.
A plan to conduct a buy-bust against the cop was hatched against Butil, who had a pending drug case in court.
Retaliated
When Butil realized he was dealing with an undercover cop, he allegedly drew out his .9mm pistol and opened fire but not hitting anyone. Jamiri’s team retaliated and hit him.
Confiscated from Butil were eight packets of suspected shabu worth P59,000, a .9mm pistol with live bullets, and his motorcycle, which had no license plate.
Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, deputy regional director for operations, said the operation was part of their effort to cleanse their ranks.
“Subo nga pamalandungon, but this is reality. Nakita nato nga even sa atoang hanay sa kapulisan naa pud gihapoy dako nga problema (It is sad that the illegal drug problem has affected some police officers),” he said.
In Barangay Poblacion, Daanbantayan, suspected drug pusher Joseph Cuyos Pepito, 21, was shot to death by men riding on a motorcycle at 8:30 p.m. last Thursday.
The victim succumbed to wounds in the head and chest.
PO3 Alfredo Mandal, chief investigator, said Pepito was a known thief in the neighborhood and an illegal drug trader.
“Sa among intelligence report, ang napatay kay top nine sa priority list sa mga drug personality sa lungsod,” he said.
Pepito, who did not surrender to the police during Oplan Tokhang, had no pending criminal cases in court.
The victim was sitting near a post, about 50 meters from his house, when he was shot.
The culprits, who wore bonnets, arrived on a motorcycle. The passenger approached Pepito and shot him several times.
Mandal said they believe the assassins used a revolver because the crime scene investigators did not recover empty shells.
Five hours earlier, a village official and his cohort were caught in a buy-bust in Barangay Talayong, Badian.
Four sachets of shabu were seized from Talayong Barangay Councilor Josaphat Bismanos Palabrica, 53, and Gerardo Almason Baring, 35.
The suspects will face complaints for violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.