9 drug suspects killed in North Cotabato shootout

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines — Nine suspected members of a major drug syndicate were killed in an alleged encounter with government security forces in Matalam town in this province at dawn yesterday.

Seven of the suspects died at the scene while the rest died while being rushed to a hospital, according to Superintendent Aldrin Gonzalez, spokesman for the Regional Police Office 12.

Six of the fatalities were identified by their relatives as Terereng Salping, Burad Salping, Dadting Kasan, Intan Aban, Mauntapo Aban and a certain Orong, all ethnic Maguindanaons.

A combined team composed of officers of the Matalam police station and North Cotabato police, and troopers of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion went to the suspects’ hideout in Barangay Kilada to serve a search warrant issued by Judge Alandrex Betoya of the Regional Trial Court Branch 16 of Kabacan town.

Reports said the suspects shot at the officers, triggering a firefight that resulted in their death.

Gonzalez said the team recovered several firearms and a large volume of shabu from the scene of the encounter.

A woman, identified as Bai Intan, tried to escape but was arrested by authorities and was taken to the police station for questioning.

9 nabbed in Bulacan

Meanwhile, in Bulacan, nine drug suspects were arrested in separate stings in the city of San Jose del Monte as well as in the towns of Angat and Guiguinto yesterday.

Twenty-nine plastic sachets said to contain shabu, drug paraphernalia and marked money were seized from the suspects, whose names were not immediately available, according to Senior Superintendent Chito Bersaluna, acting chief of the Bulacan police.

The pieces of evidence were taken to the Bulacan Crime Laboratory for examination. – With Ramon Efren Lazaro