A botched operation by Cebu operatives against a homicide suspect in Bohol is now being investigated following allegations that an agent of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) tipped her about it. Homicide suspect Bella Ruby Santos was reportedly sighted in Bohol prompting the manhunt for her by authorities. Santos and her British boyfriend Ian Charles Griffiths are facing criminal charges for the death of 6-year-old Ellah Joy Pique. The Cebu Daily News reported that Renante Pique, the victim’s father, alleged that an agent of the CIDG was found to have received “payola (grease money)” from Santos .

He claimed that a member of the PNP Task Force Ellah told him that Santos evaded arrest in an operation probably because she was alerted by her informer. Pique alleged that his source confided to him that incriminating messages was found in the cellphone of the agent that showed that he was receiving a monthly stipend of P20,000 from Santos. Both the agent and police officials have denied the allegation. There was no confirmation on the specific dates and places of the police operation against Santos in Bohol . The Office of the Ombudsman, however, is not going to allow the issue to go away.

Cebu newspapers said Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago will look deeper into the reported involvement of the agent with the homicide suspect who remains at large. This is the latest controversy to hit law-enforcement authorities. Last month, an agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was arrested in an entrapment operation and is now under detention. Meanwhile, a suspected drug personality was arrested by a composite team led by the PDEA in Loon town. The suspect identified as Sherwin Bautista claims he is a police asset who has allowed operatives to use his personal funds for entrapment operations.