BY RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS
ILOILO – The province remains peaceful despite two consecutive alleged summary executions, according to Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) spokesperson Major Rolando Araño.
“Very safe ang aton nga probinsya. Kung lantawon naton very sound gid ang aton nga peace and order. Ang mga nagkalatabu sa Tigbauan kag Leganes were all isolated [cases],” he said.
On Sunday, March 26, alleged summary execution survivor Glen Paloma, 29, was found hogtied and with six gunshot wounds in a rice field in Barangay Calaboa, Leganes town.
Paloma served jail time in 2016 for illegal drugs but was able to secure a plea bargain in October last year.
On March 23, Allen Sanchez, 58, was found dead in Barangay Linobayan, Tigbauan town. Three sachets of suspected shabu and one sachet of marijuana were found in his wallet. At the back of Sanchez’s shirt was the inscription, “Para sa bayan Toto Desilos Ungka BJMP Munti Drug Group.”
The IPPO is looking into illegal drugs as a possible angle behind the two cases.
“Ang angle nga ginasundan sang aton nga investigation was their involvement sa illegal drugs. Daku ang possibility nga ang mga upod man lang nila ang may kahimuan…,” Araño added.
The IPPO intensified its police visibility following the alleged summary executions.
“Ang directives gid ni PD (provincial director), Police Colonel Ronaldo Palomo, nga i-intensify ang checkpoints, ang police visibility, ang patrolling especially sa mga ka-alang-alangan nga lugar kag oras. Kinanglan man naton i-intensify ang intelligence monitoring kag ang coordination sang mga intelligence units dapat i-enhance pa gid,” Araño said./PN
