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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Tuesday, january 10, 2017
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ILOILO City – The elusive suspected drug lord Richard Prevendido is embarrassing the police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). But he may soon run out of luck.
Sources said Prevendido has not left Western Visayas but is constantly moving around to elude policemen.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is considering giving a handsome monetary reward to whoever could give information leading to the suspect’s successful arrest.
Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 spokesperson, also said the regional police is working on another bounty from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Aided by close confidantes, Prevendido does not stay long in one place and takes taxis or drives his own car, sources told Panay News.
“DILG gives cash rewards for the arrest of high-profile personalities charged with non-bailable offenses,” said Gorero.
On Jan. 6, the Regional Trial Court, Branch 21 issued an arrest warrant against Prevendido for violation of Section 11 (possession of dangerous drugs) of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. This case was in connection with the shabu recovered from Prevendido’s during a raid last October 2016.
Judge Daniel Antonio Gerardo Amular did not recommend a bail bond, said Gorero.
Prevendido was in Dumangas, Iloilo recently but did not stay long, and his quest for safer hideouts took him to the provinces of Capiz and Aklan, according to sources.
PDEA operatives seized from Prevendido’s house in Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao district a total of 83.235 grams of shabu valued over half a million pesos last Oct. 31, 2016.
Under Section 11 of the Act, shabu seized way over 50 grams regardless of the substance’s quality and purity means the suspect may not be allowed to post bail.
The PRO-6 welcomed the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant. Now the police’s manhunt against Prevendido has legal basis, said Gorero.
“This is a non-bailable offense. We are calling Prevendido once again. Don’t be afraid to surrender. We assure his safety should he wish to surface,” he stressed.
PRO-6 director Jose Gentiles gave his men until Dec. 31, 2016 to arrest Prevendido but they failed.
“The issuance of the warrant of arrest bolstered the legal basis of our tactical units to find and arrest the suspect,” Gentiles said yesterday.
The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) disclosed receiving a lot of information on the whereabouts of Prevendido.
“We are verifying these tips. Ang dami,” said Senior Superintendent Harold Tuzon, IPPO director.
Tuzon said his men received information that Prevendido was in the 2nd or 5th districts. He, however, declined to specify which town.
Assistant regional director Levi Ortiz of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) admitted that Prevendido was hard to catch.
“He was constantly moving. We even received reports that he already left Western Visayas,” said Ortiz.
But he expressed confidence that the suspected drug lord will soon be caught.
“He can run but he can’t forever hide. Makukuha rin sya. Matiyaga ang mga operatives natin,” Ortiz said.
A lot of suspected members of the Prevendido drug group were caught in recent months, including the “high-value” Bonie Prevendido Gregori, Richard’s nephew and son of the barangay captain of Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Remia Prevendido Gregori./PN
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