‘Narco’ ex-cop killed in Minglanilla

CEBU, Philippines - A retired police officer, who was among those in President Duterte's "narco list," was shot dead before 10 a.m. yesterday in his residence in Sitio Tagaytay, Barangay Vito, Minglanilla town.

Senior Police Officer 2 Ronilo "Onil" Nabua, 49, was already dead when he was rushed to the South General Hospital in the City of Naga. He sustained a gunshot wound to the head.

Nabua was a high-value target and among those in the town police's drug watchlist, according to Minglanilla police chief Inspector Florendo Fajardo.

While he was still in active duty, Nabua was assigned at the Minglanilla Police Station, as well as at the Intelligence Branch of the Police Regional Office-7 and other offices. However, he availed of an optional retirement.

Two months earlier, Nabua appeared at the Minglanilla Police Station to supposedly clear his name from allegations of drug participation.

According to Fajardo, Nabua showed the local police a document indicating he already reported to the national police headquarters after his name appeared twice in Duterte's lists of personalities involved in the illegal drug trade.

Nabua admitted to the police that he was a protector and not a drug peddler, the town police chief added.

Based on initial police investigation, Nabua may have been killed by his own aide.

"Ang nipusil niya iyaha rang amigo, nahug og bata-bata niya. Dating sundalo, unya almost a month nagpuyo sa ilang balay (A friend, who used to be Nabua's aide, was the one who shot him. The suspect is a former soldier and once stayed in Nabua's place for a month)," Fajardo said.

Fajardo then identified the suspect as a certain "Reybak" who originally hailed from Cagayan.

A witness, Dario Sellote, 48, who lives in the place, reportedly saw Nabua and Reybak talking to each other shortly before the shooting transpired.

Sellote was painting the multicab owned by the victim when he saw Reybak enter the house of Nabua and then shoot him in the head.

When Reybak noticed Sellote, he allegedly chased and also fired at him, hitting him in the mouth.

Luckily, Sellote managed to run away from the suspect even if he was already hit.

A certain Nequisa Taberos, 18, a helper in the house, also claimed to have witnessed Nabua's shooting.

Taberos said she was surprised to see Reybak shoot the victim since she was not aware of any prior misunderstanding between the two.

Police recovered two empty shells of caliber .45 pistol bullets at the house.

Fajardo said they are now looking at two possible motives in the shooting: the victim's association with illegal drugs and robbery.

The robbery angle was floated after reports that the suspect grabbed Nabua's black bag before immediately fleeing onboard a motorcycle, heading towards the mountain barangays.

Taberos told the police there was money inside the bag, as well as ATM cards and other important documents owned by Nabua.

There were also unverified reports that before the incident, Nabua withdrew a big amount of money, possibly around a million pesos, as he was planning to buy a property.  (FREEMAN)