CEBU CITY -- Rizalyn Quiamco, who was killed with her husband, Police Officer 3 (PO3) Ryan Martus Quiamco, in a drug bust in Talisay City on Tuesday, was in her early stages of pregnancy.
Senior Superintendent Jonathan Cabal, Regional Intelligence Division (RID)-Central Visayas chief, said that the pregnancy was confirmed by medico-legal officer Dr. Benjamin Lara.
The autopsy conducted by Lara showed that Rizalyn was four to six months pregnant.
Rizalyn succumbed three gunshots in the body but the unborn child was not hit.
Cabal said they insisted on the examination despite her relatives’ refusal. The autopsy on the slain police officer has yet to be completed.
Rizalyn was in the black pickup truck driven by Quiamco, 37, when the latter engaged the RID operatives in a running gun battle, which ended in Barangay Pooc (not Biasong as earlier reported), Talisay City around 6 p.m. last Tuesday.
Cabal said Rizalyn was tasked with collecting drug proceeds from their buyers and consignees.
President Rodrigo Duterte tagged Quiamco as one of the drug protectors in Central Visayas last year, resulting in his relief and transfer to Camp Crame for investigation.
Quiamco had links with the group of self-confessed drug Franz Sabalones and the Parojinog group in Ozamiz City. The areas of distribution included Cordova, Minglanilla, Sibonga, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City, Naga City and Carcar City.
“Quiamco had been monitored with other police officers to be transporting and distributing illegal drugs from a Taiwanese source and distributing the same to illegal drug pushers. There were also reports that he peddled illegal drugs not by grams, but kilos,” Cabal said.
The officer’s relative, who requested anonymity, said his death was an overkill and denied he owned several properties.
During the operation last Tuesday night, RID recovered money transfer receipts, reflecting different names of recipients, including that of a ranking police official who was previously assigned in Police Regional Office (PRO) 7.
“These personalities will be immediately put under investigation to establish their involvement in the illegal drug trade,” Cabal said.
The slain officer was charged by Regional Internal Affairs Service 7 before the Ombudsman for his lavish lifestyle. He owned farms in Anda, Bohol and San Fernando, Cebu.
He was able to purchase four houses, including a two-storey house in a subdivision in Pooc. The Quiamcos also owned businesses.
PRO 7 will look into the possible forfeiture of the officer’s properties.
Cabal said the Quiamcos were “living a luxurious lifestyle, far from being commensurate with their legitimate sources of income.” The couple used vehicles registered to other names.
Quiamco’s name first surfaced after a concerned citizen wrote to former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr. in November 2014. RID tried to arrest Quiamco at the time, but it failed after their asset was shot dead on Dec. 3, 2014 by Manolito Sencil, Quiamco’s rival.
Last year, Quiamco was seen in the house of a drug pusher in Carcar City. He escaped arrest.
RID operative PO2 Jemuel Villaflores and three bystanders—Aime Raganas, 27; Nilo Dela Cerna, 41; and Karla Teshia Macabunas, 12—were wounded during the shootout last Tuesday night.
Some of the slugs stuck in the notebooks and textbooks of Macabunas and two of her cousins, who were not hurt.
Before the operation, RID has been monitoring Quiamco since April this year.
After his relief from PRO 7 in August last year and transfer to Camp Crame, RID still received reports on his active involvement in illegal drug trade. His last assignment in PRO 7 was in the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO)-Public Safety Company.
Cabal said they secured a search warrant last July, but they failed to implement after Quiamco went to Manila and only returned after the warrant expired.
Quiamco, a criminology graduate, entered the service on Dec. 16, 2002. In 2003, he was assigned to PRO 7’s regional service office, before his transfer to Regional Public Safety Batallion in the same year.
In 2006, he was assigned in CPPO until his relief last year.
The RID-led operation last Tuesday night happened on the day that Quiamco was supposed to be in Camp Crame.
During the operation, Quiamco instructed the poseur-buyer, a police officer, that they would meet in a mall in Cebu City at 3 p.m.
He later texted the officer, transferring their meeting place to the South Road Properties. Around 6 p.m., he sent a text message again that they would meet in Barangay Mohon, Talisay City.
When Quiamco noticed he was dealing with police, he tried to evade them and started shooting at the operatives. (KAL)