Cop killed, companions hurt in Cotabato anti-narc operation
Peace and Order • 10:00 AM Wed Apr 21, 2021
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By:
John M. Unson
Photo courtesy of PNP
NORTH COTABATO --- A policeman was killed while two companions were hurt in an anti-illegal drugs operation before dawn Wednesday in Alamada town that turned haywire.
Patrolman Emmanuel David Vales died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds.
He was one of the police and Army personnel dispatched to search for shabu and firearms in the hideout of Pilong Salangan in Barangay Guiling in Alamada, North Cotabato at past 3:00 a.m. Wednesday.
In an initial report to the Police Regional Office-12, Major Sunny Leoncito, chief of the Alamada municipal police, said Salangan and his companions resisted arrest, provoking a gunfight that resulted in the death of Vales.
Two other policemen, Sgt. James Byron Lagarto and Patrolman Mario Rapusas, were hurt in the ensuing clash.
Salangan was eventually subdued and arrested by the raiding team, according to Leoncito.
The incident triggered panic among villagers in Barangay Guiling where Salangan reportedly distributed shabu and peddled dried marijuana leaves to local contacts.