6 suspects slain in drug war

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

In Caloocan, Mayor Oscar Malapitan ordered the police to investigate the killing of Barangay 118 chairman Prolly Bolo, 42, on Wednesday afternoon.

Bolo was drinking with three friends in a junkshop on Baltazar street shortly before 4 p.m. when four masked men on two motorcycles arrived and shot him repeatedly.

Malapitan said Bolo’s murder is similar to the killings of drug suspects reportedly done by a “death squad” roaming the city but there have been no reports yet on whether Bolo was involved in the illegal drug trade. 

BMBA Compound, where Bolo lived, is under scrutiny by the city police due to “rampant” drug-related incidents. The area made headlines after two brothers shot at revelers on New Year’s Eve in 2011.

A high-ranking police official earlier told The STAR almost all of the raids they planned on the compound were “compromised,” making him believe that “someone in the police force is protecting the area.”

Meanwhile, three alleged drug pushers were killed and a drug suspect was found dead in Pasig City since Wednesday.

An unidentified assailant barged into Jessie Dabon’s house in Barangay Rosario and shot him repeatedly.

A member of the barangay security force identified Dabon, 45, as a drug pusher, said city police chief Senior Superintendent Orlando Yebra Jr.

At around 12:25 a.m. yesterday, driver Anthony Pandes, 30, was shot dead by one of three armed men as he was standing in front of his house in Barangay Pineda.

Pandes was in the barangay’s drug watchlist, said Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, Eastern Police District director.

Around five minutes later, suspected drug pusher Enrico Espinosa, 27, was shot by three men who barged into his house in Barangay Caniogan.

Witnesses said the assailants grabbed Espinosa by his feet and shot him at close range in the head and body.

An improvised tooter and other drug paraphernalia were reportedly recovered from Espinosa, police said.

At past 4 a.m., the body of an unidentified man, suspected to be a drug pusher, was found in Barangay Maybunga. A sachet of shabu was found near the body.

Police described the victim as between 40 and 47 years old and clad in denim pants and a white t-shirt.

In Quezon City, an alleged drug pusher identified only as “Fidel” was shot after he allegedly fired at police officers during a sting along Aurora Boulevard in Barangay Immaculate Conception at around 1:30 a.m.

He was declared dead at the East Avenue Medical Center at around 2:15 a.m.

Six sachets said to contain shabu were found in two coin purses in his pockets, police said. – Rey Galupo, Non Alquitran, Romina Cabrera