Another suspected pusher killed in Batangas firefight

BATANGAS CITY, Philippines (The Filipino Connection) – Five days after two suspected pushers were killed in a shootout in Calatagan town, another alleged drug pusher was killed in a firefight with authorities in Batangas province on Friday.

Senior Superintendent Arcadio Ronquillo Jr., acting Batangas provincial police director, identified the fatality as Donald Medina, 36, a resident of Barangay San Jose Sico, Batangas City.

Medina is listed as 1047th in Batangas City police’s drug watchlist for his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

He was also previously the subject of the Batangas Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s one time big time search warrant operation on February 14 for illegal drug possession but police said the raid yielded negative result.

Ronquillo said that Friday’s shootout happened at around 9 a.m. when the members of the Batangas City Police Station led by deputy police chief PCI Jose Naparato Jr. implemented a search warrant on the suspect’s residence for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

As the raiding team was about to enter the said premises, however, the suspect allegedly attempted to shoot the raiding team with his caliber 38 revolver, forcing the cops to fire back on the suspect, in the process wounding him.

Police immediately brought the suspect to the Batangas Medical Center for medical treatment but doctors declared him dead upon arrival.

Police recovered from the crime scene eight sachets of suspected shabu worth P22,000; a fan knife, three fired cartridge cases and a fired bullet of caliber 9 mm pistol, caliber 45 pistol with two magazines of eight bullets each; caliber 9 mm pistol with magazine loaded with 14 live bullets; and a caliber 38 revolver with five live bullets.

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Marlon Alexander Luistro is the editor of The Filipino Connection, regional partner of Philstar.com.