Bohol law enforcers have warned drug pushers and their cohorts that the choice is theirs -- whether to “surrender or die” -- as they go on mocking the police in their efforts to stamp out the drug problem. The Bohol police command is waging a relentless campaign to wipe out the worsening drug menace even at the cost of losing two crusading police chiefs. “Those who are involved in the illegal drug business are destroying the lives of our youth and the foundations of our families, and in effect, they kill each member of our society – but as a result of their wrong means of making money, they can also be killed by their own masters or rivals,” said Col. Dennis Agustin, Bohol PNP director, in Tagalog.

The statement came on the heels of the death of one of the province's drug lords who was killed in a shootout with the police Sunday at a resort in Bien Unido town. Dismissed policeman Owen Rosales, prime suspect in the ambush-slay of Ubay police chief Major George Salcedo Caña, was killed, along with five other drug pushers, when he refused to surrender but instead opened fire at police operatives. After more than an hour of gun battle, four other companions of Rosales surrendered to the police, and they are now facing charges for murder, illegal drugs and unlicensed guns. On the same day, another trusted aide of Rosales, identified as Troy Dela Torre, turned himself over to the regional office of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), fearing for the safety of his life. Dela Torre, through an emissary, gave up several high-powered handguns, ammos, and hand grenade, marking his seemingly permanent return to the arms of law.

“Walang mabuting mapapala ang taong sangkot sa illegal na druga. Mamatay lang sila dahil ang mga drug pushers ay nag-aaway din, nagpapatayan dahil sa market competition,” Agustin said. Three weeks ago, four drug pushers were massacred in Ubay town reportedly by their own master after failing to remit shabu sales. Elsewhere in the province, every now and then, several drug pushers have been liquidated by either their rivals or bosses in which one of the latest incidents was the twin massacre of known drug pushers in Barangay Tabajan, Guindulman. “Napapatay ang mga drug pushers sa sarili nilang mga amo kung hindi sila maka-remit ng binta,” the Bohol PNP director said. And he added: “Kaya ang tamang gawin ay mag-surrender nalang bago pa man sila mamatay. At huminto na at magbagong buhay habang may panahon pa.” Meanwhile, newly –installed PNP regional director Chief Superintendent Prudencio Bañas has called on all policemen and police women in Central Visayas to be strong, urging them not to “fear the criminals.” The regional director said it is unacceptable for police officers to entertain fears. “Why are you in service if you are afraid to face the criminals? That's a no-no in so far as I am concerned. You cannot use that alibi na hindi ka magtatrabaho dahil gaganti sila,” Bañas said. He has ordered all police forces in Region 7 to hunt down all those involved in the illegal drugs.

“Tuloy ang laban. Hanapin pa sila. You must be in the offensive not in the defensive. If you cannot do your job then tell me, we'll find somebody else who would be willing to do the job,” Bañas added. Bañas was appointed the new PNP regional director on Wednesday, the day he declared an “all-out war against illegal drugs.” Bañas said the proliferation of illegal drugs must be stopped, adding that police officers must not compromise with the drug menace but rather make its stoppage “a priority.” Along this line, Gov. Edgar Chatto on Independence Day celebration last Thursday has rallied the Boholano people to stand up for peace and righteousness. Chatto said evil should not triumph, stressing that the Boholanos should not be afraid to fight against criminality and those who disturb the peace of Bohol. The governor, in response to the deaths of two town police chiefs who were known for their honest-to-goodness campaign against illegal drugs, has vowed for an “all-out war against illegal drugs in Bohol.” During the commemoration of Philippine freedom, Chatto led provincial and city officials in giving a posthumous award to Major George Caña and SPOI Noel Romagos, whom he called “modern heroes for Bohol's fight against illegal drugs.”

ENCOUNTER WITH POLICE OPERATIVES

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours after an anti-drug crusading police chief was brutally murdered Saturday night by drug pushers in Bohol, police here relentlessly hunted down the attackers, resulting to the death of six of the suspects, one of whom was a dismissed police officer, during a shootout with the law enforcers. Aside from the six killed, four other suspects surrendered to the police Sunday while three others were arrested at a checkpoint in San Miguel town, Bohol. In a press briefing Monday, the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) led by Col. Dennis Agustin identified the fatality as former Police Officer 1 Owen Rosales, who police had tagged as the prime suspect in the killing of Ubay town police head Chief Inspector George Salcedo Caña. Two days before he was ambushed and killed, Caña told DYRD in an interview that he would give his life to help Bohol get free from the rampant proliferation of illegal drugs, which have been blamed on the rise of heinous crimes in Bohol. Caña's last words spoken over DYRD a day before he was ambushed and killed had made many radio listeners tearful, reawakening people's indifference to social issues, particularly Bohol's worsening problem on illegal drugs. In the wake of Caña's killing, there was a public outrage on social media sites and over radio stations here, and people were calling for local government officials to increase the financial resources to the police for their anti-drug operation.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

On the other hand, those who died with Rosales were identified as Armando Auxtero Quisto, of Balintawak, Talibon town; Glenn Alvarez Sayson, of Mandawa, Bien-Unido town; Junifer Tubo Bicada, of Poblacion, Talibon town; Carlito Navarosa Kiamko, of Tabajan, Guindulman town; and Amie Camero, 18, of Sitio Kimba, Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City, Cebu. Those who surrendered to the police were Roberto Del Rosario Olalo, of Davao City; Paolo Rivera Avenido, of Poblacion, Bien Unido; Orlando Remoreras, of Magsaysay, Talibon; and 18-year-old Joan Bayonas Cajes; of Poblacion, Trinidad town, Bohol. Witnesses had tipped off the police that the ten suspects were swapping cars minutes following the assassination of Caña. Combined police operatives of the Provincial Intelligence Board, Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) and Bien Unido police station led by Chief Inspector Alvin Futalan chanced upon the group who had checked in at Playa Beach Resort in Barangay Puerto San Pedro, Bien Unido.

“Our police negotiated for the surrender of the suspects but they fired at our police,” Agustin said. “We had no other option but to protect our police officers.” Agustin told media the one-hour negotiation bogged down, resulting to a one-and-half-hour gunfight. After the gun battle, six were found dead in three different rooms of the resort. The four who escaped the gunfight eventually surrendered to the police. “No police were injured in the shootout,” Futalan said during the press briefing. Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) had recovered from the possession of the suspects several high-powered guns and ammunitions, including two sub-machine guns, an M-16 rifle, and seven handguns of .45, 9mm and .38 caliber, a hand grenade, more than a hundred grams shabu, and several drug paraphernalia. SOCO also recovered a van, automobile, and pick-up cars, which were used by the suspects. In a separate operation in San Miguel, police have also arrested three other suspects who were believed to be the “back-up” of the prime suspect in the killing of Caña. Police identified them as Cirilo Tagaan Cagatin, Romelos Gurrea Languido, and Michael Alcotin Lagunza from whom police seized several high-powered guns, ammunitions, and drug paraphernalia. Police also seized a black SUV car used by the suspects.

Police said the slain Rosales, a former SWAT member, had been identified as a high-profile drug lord in Bohol. He was dismissed from the police after he went AWOL (absence without leave) in 2011. Rosales and his companions were tagged as the prime suspect in the murder of Caña after witnesses and citizen informants told police of the movement of Rosales on the night the Ubay police chief was ambushed. Caña was the second police chief killed here in a month, in the heels of BPPO's aggressive anti-drug campaign in Bohol. On May 2 SPO1 Noel Romagos, Danao town police chief and anti-drug crusader, was also shot dead in Sta. Fe, Danao, Bohol. As a result of PNP's hot pursuit operations, the police have recovered one black Mitsubishi Montero, one black Toyota Fortuner, a van, automobile car, and another SUV car – all used in the illegal drug trade in Bohol. A trusted aide of Rosales had also turned over to authorities and surrendered through a barangay official in Bien Unido a cache of weapons used in illegal drug operations. The recovery of high-powered guns and sophisticated SUV cars from drug pushers in Bohol only confirms intelligence reports which have indicated that illegal drug pushers in Bohol are highly organized – from logistics, legal team, transportation, communication, and other support mechanisms. Sources privy to the seriousness of the illegal drug problem in Bohol have said that the Boholano business community should step forward and help the police's operational needs, stressing that provincial and town officials should increase funding for intelligence and police day-to-day work, in light of the worsening illegal drug problem that could forever destroy the future of Bohol and its people.