BACOLOD CITY – A retired police officer included in the drug list of President Duterte was kidnapped by unidentified men here on Friday.
Former police lieutenant Lito Pirote was seized by three men from the Metro Inn Hotel in Barangay 7.
The armed men, who were wearing bonnets, reportedly forced Pirote into a van with five other suspects on board, according to Capt. Leo Estopa, chief of the city police Station 2.
Estopa said investigators found bloodstains at the scene.
Pirote retired from the service in January.
In 2016, he was named best junior police commissioned officer in the field of operations by the Philippine National Police.
Col. Henry Biñas, officer-in-charge of the Bacolod City police, yesterday said the kidnapping could be drug-related.
Biñas said they would seek the help of the Land Transportation Office in identifying the owner of the van used by the suspects. – With Romina Cabrera