BY RUBY SILUBRICO AND MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – A member of City Drug Enforcement Unit (CEDU) of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) was shot to death by riding-in-tandem assailants on Sunday night on Rosario Street, Barangay 38 here.
Police Staff Sergeant Joseph Nepomoceno, 37, of Barangay 14 died at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.
The assassination happened around 5:15 p.m. The motorcycle-riding Nepomoceno was in civilian clothes. He succumbed to gunshot wounds on the back, face and chest
Six empty shells of a .45 pistol were recovered, said Major Ramel Sarona, commander of this city’s Police Station 1.
The gunmen were onboard a black motorcycle, wearing helmets and black jackets.
“Our initial information showed that the victim came from their house and was conducting surveillance of their supposed drug target,” Sarona said.
What could be the motive?
It might be work-related, said Sarona. Nepomoceno was holding a “sensitive position” in CDEU, specifically the one holding drug operations against high-value targets (HVTs), he added.
According to a former police official of the BCPO who requested anonymity, Nepomoceno was among the police officers who arrested “big-time” drug peddlers in Bacolod in 2020 and seized huge volumes of suspected shabu.
BCPO director, Police Colonel Manuel Placido ordered a manhunt of the assassins.
“The BCPO is saddened by the loss of one of its dedicated personnel, a hardworking operative instrumental in the arrest of several high-value individual (HVI) drug peddlers and prohibited drug users,” Placido said.
Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) director, Police Brigadier General Rolando Miranda directed Placido to conduct thorough investigation.
“Napakalungkot nito hindi lang sa PNP (Philippine National Police) organization lalo na sa pamilya nya,” said Miranda. “Managot ang dapat managot.”/PN
