MANILA, Philippines — Three police officers were killed in separate incidents in Luzon and the Visayas over the weekend, the Philippine National Police said yesterday.
Pedicab driver Jericho Cano allegedly hit M/Sgt. Romeo Padua with a steel pipe in Naga City, Camarinez Sur.
Cano took Padua’s firearm and shot the officer in the head, killing him at the scene of the crime, which occurred in Barangay Dinaga.
Responding police officers including Cpl. Christian del Valle cornered Cano in nearby Barangay Tabuco, where a firefight erupted.
The firefight resulted in the death of Del Valle and Cano.
Probers have yet to determine the cause of the rift between Padua and Cano.
Meanwhile, S/Sgt. Elvin Agting was killed in a police operation in Bugasong, Antique on Friday.
Agting was part of a team out to arrest Roy Jalipa, 33, who was tagged in the killing of a barangay councilman.
“This is a sad weekend for the police service,” PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said.