Cop was selling gun in sting turned shootout

MANILA, Philippines - A rogue policeman who was killed in a shootout in Quezon City Monday was about to sell a high-powered firearm to an undercover agent, an official said yesterday.

Senior Police Officer 1 Wilberto Blanco, 39, of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 9, tried to escape by shooting it out with police officers of Task Force Tugis, who conducted the sting, as he and his companions sped away in an Isuzu MU-X (ASA 7504).

Blanco joined the force on Sept. 3, 1998 and was assigned at the QCPD.

In his 17 years with the police service, Blanco was charged with grave misconduct, illegal arrest, robbery, kidnapping, planting evidence and perjury.

Sudden stop

Blanco died while in surgery at the Capitol Medical Center Monday night.

His companions – driver Harlie Linda, 34; and his sister, Diana Linda, 28 – are confined at the same hospital.

Task Force Tugis chief Senior Superintendent Ronald Lee said his men, with the help of an informant, arranged the purchase of an Intratec 9mm machine pistol from Blanco for P30,000.

Blanco changed the venue of the meeting three times until he settled on a hotel along Roces Avenue. A team headed by Senior Police Officer 4 Fernando Cantillas cordoned off the hotel’s parking lot and noticed Blanco’s vehicle, with its heavily tinted windows, stop at around 4 p.m.

The undercover agent and the informant approached the vehicle and knocked on the driver’s window, but the driver sped away.

In a bid to escape, the Isuzu hit several bystanders, vendors’ carts and three parked cars – a maroon Honda Brio VTec (AEA 5715), a red Toyota Camry (ZLB 208), and a gray Honda City (ZPJ 689).

Forced to a sudden stop, Blanco and the Lindas reportedly engaged the police officers in a shootout.

Lee identified two of the wounded bystanders as 12-year-old Louie Jay Villareal and Ricardo Ungson Jr., 39, operations manager of CA Telemarketing Inc. Both are being treated at the Capitol Medical Center.

Armed to the teeth

Blanco yielded a Glock 9mm pistol, an extra magazine with 14 bullets, a silencer and a Pietro Beretta 9mm pistol.

Harlie yielded a Taurus .45 caliber pistol and Diana a knapsack with an Intratec 9mm pistol and a sling bag that contained at least a kilo of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

Two more bags contained Blanco’s identification cards and other personal items.

Crime scene investigators, headed by Senior Inspector Jun Malong, also recovered three mobile phones.

Probed

Meanwhile, QCPD Station 10 commander Superintendent Richard Fiesta under investigation for the shootout since it happened in his area of jurisdiction.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Edgardo Tinio said the investigation is “part of the process” but clarified that Fiesta will still continue to report for work while the investigation is ongoing.

Fiesta said he will cooperate in the probe.

Tinio said Blanco, along with former QCPD Station 6 commander Superintendent Victor Pagulayan, was among those who was relieved in July for alleged extortion.

Blanco’s family will not receive benefits as he was caught doing an illegal activity, he added.