Drugs eyed in ex-cop’s kidnap in Bacolod

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking into the alleged drug links of a retired police officer who was kidnapped in Bacolod City on Friday.

PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said the inclusion of retired Maj. Lito Pirote in President Duterte’s drug watchlist is among the angles probers are pursuing.

“As of this time we do not see any other angle except his alleged involvement in illegal drugs,” Albayalde told a press briefing at Camp Crame yesterday.

Pirote was seized by three men from the Metro Inn Hotel in Barangay 7 while attending a family gathering.

“We should consider it alarming because it manifests the boldness of the people who perpetrated the crime,” Brig. Gen. John Bulalacao, Western Visayas police chief, said.

Bulalacao said he directed police officials in Western Visayas to remain vigilant and intensify intelligence monitoring to prevent similar incidents.

Citing the accounts of witnesses,  Bacolod police chief Col. Henry Biñas said the kidnappers were wearing tactical gear and masks.

The suspects reportedly disarmed the security guards of the hotel, ordered the employees and guests to lie down on the floor and forced Pirote into a white Toyota HiAce with registration plate YS-4514.

Probers sought the assistance of the Land Transportation Office to identify the owner of the vehicle.

Biñas said the kidnappers have yet to communicate with Pirote’s family.

Pirote, who retired last January, was formerly assigned with the PNP’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group.