7 more dead in drug war

MANILA, Philippines - At least seven suspected users and pushers were killed in Metro Manila over the past two days.

In Malate, Manila, four alleged drug users were killed when they reportedly resisted arrest before dawn yesterday.

The four still unidentified men died at the scene. Arellano police community precinct commander Chief Inspector Paulito Sabulao said he was saved by a bulletproof vest he was wearing.

Police Officer 1 Bruno Arucod was brought to the Ospital ng Maynila after a bullet hit him in the armpit.

Sabulao and his men were manning a checkpoint at the corner of Pablo Ocampo street and Arellano Avenue at past 2 a.m. when they received a tip that several men were having a pot session at a vacant lot along Don Pedro street, said Senior Police Officer 2 John Charles Duran.

With the help of barangay watchmen, the police officers raided the area but were reportedly met with gunfire.

Police officers reported recovering four .38 caliber revolvers, five sachets of shabu and a motorcycle.

In Barangay Tumana, Marikina, alleged pusher Lloyd Llamera was killed in a sting on Thursday after he reportedly shot it out with police officers.

In Pasig City, four men gunned down Jun Dumpit yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, Eastern Police District director, said Dumpit was categorized as a pusher and user in the drug watchlist of Barangay Maybunga.

Also in Pasig, house painter Ruel Corsiga, 40, was shot by two unidentified assailants Thursday night.

Sapitula said the killing was drug-related as Corsiga was named as a pusher and user in Barangay Pinagbuhatan’s drug watchlist.

Shootings leave 1 cop dead, 1 hurt

Two separate attacks left one policeman dead and another hurt yesterday.

A closed-circuit television video showed Police Officer 2 Rancel Cruz being shot by a man he accosted along 3rd Avenue in Caloocan City at around 1:20 a.m.

In the video, Cruz was in police uniform and riding his motorcycle when he approached the man and frisked him. The man shot him then ran away.

City police chief investigator Senior Inspector Ilustre Mendoza said they are “looking closely at his work since he had arrested several drug suspects recently.”

Meanwhile, Police Officer 1 Raymond Escober, 39, survived an ambush by four motorcycle-riding assailants at his store in Quezon City at past noon yesterday.

Escober, who was shot five times, was reported to be in stable condition at the East Avenue Medical Center, said Superintendent Pedro Sanchez, Kamuning police station commander.

He said Escober is included in the barangay and police drug watchlists and police officers have visited his home and asked him to change his ways as part of Oplan Tokhang.

Escober was also previously involved in an indiscriminate firing incident.

Candy crushed

In Quezon City, Joey Raquel, 37, was arrested on Thursday for shooting a waiter who supposedly sold him crushed candy, telling him it was shabu.

Raquel was caught in his home in Barangay Holy Spirit hours after he shot Alvin Montalban, 34, in front of a canteen along Commonwealth Avenue at around 1:30 p.m.

Superintendent Lito Patay, Batasan police station commander, said Raquel admitted to shooting Montalban over the fake shabu.

An improvised pen gun, bullets and a sachet said to contain shabu was seized from Raquel upon his arrest.

In Makati, police officers arrested 43 alleged drug suspects in anti-drug operations in Barangay Guadalupe Viejo yesterday morning.

In Quezon City, at least 17 drug suspects, including three minors, were arrested in separate operations on Thursday.

QCPD: 231 dead over drugs

A total of 231 persons have been listed as casualties in the drug war in Quezon City, 135 of whom were slain during police operations, since July 1.

Data from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) showed that there were 74 encounters that resulted in the killing of drug suspects and the arrest of 29 others.

The figure includes three police officers, allegedly involved in illegal drug activities, who shot it out with fellow lawmen in separate stings.

The intensified campaign against illegal drugs of the local police has led to the arrest of 1,901 drug personalities, including 402 drug pushers, in the last three months.

High-value targets arrested by the QCPD include former sexy stars Sabrina M, Krista Miller, two men’s magazine models, and the city’s own “shabu queen,” Hapida Ditanongun.

The implementation of Oplan Tokhang has also resulted in the surrender of 9,841 drug personalities, 681 of whom were self-confessed pushers. – Rey Galupo, Non Alquitran, Romina Cabrera, Robertzon Ramirez