AUTHORITIES are looking at revenge as the motive behind the killing of a member of the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU).
Police Master Sergeant Junard Cinco died instantly after he was shot by two unidentified men on a motorcycle in Barangay Media Onse in Toledo City at 8:10 a.m. Tuesday, April 30.
The ambush took place 14 hours after Police Captain Alejandro Batobalonos, head of PDEU, and his men killed a suspected drug lord and his lackey in an encounter past 5 p.m. last Monday, April 29, in Cebu City.
Cinco was driving his motorcycle with his wife as passenger. He was taking her to a mall in Toledo where she worked. When they reached the national highway in Barangay Media Onse, two men on a motorcycle stopped next to them and shot Cinco four times.
Cinco slumped down after he was hit in the neck and head. His motorcycle veered to the right and fell into a ditch. His wife, who was injured during the fall, was rushed to a hospital in Cebu City.
Four shells from a .45 pistol were recovered at the scene.
A closed-circuit television camera in the area captured Cinco driving past with the two killers right behind him. They both wore full-face helmets.
After the shooting, the killers fled in the direction of the City of Naga.
Police Captain Batobalonos was saddened by the incident. He said the victim was a good man.
He said Cinco was not able to accompany them when they served the arrest warrant to Gerly Tabera Luwage, Cebu's most wanted person, last Monday because Cinco was attending a hearing for an illegal drugs case of another arrested drug personality.
Despite his absence, Cinco played a big role in the downfall of Luwage since he was responsible for the build-up of the latter's case, Batobalonos said.
This might have been the reason Luwage's group decided to target Cinco, he said.
Luwage was killed in last Monday's operation along with his lackey Junel Lasam inside the house Luwage had rented in Friendship Village in Barangay Basak Nicolas, Cebu City after they resisted arrest, Batobalonos said.
"Buotan kaayo ning bataa. Hilumon ni kay kon naa mi lakaw, motrabaho ra gyud ning bataa nga walay langas ba (Cinco was a good man. Although he was quiet, he got things done)," the PDEU head said.
Batobalonos doesn't believe Cinco had enemies. This is why he is inclined to believe that the motive for the ambush was work-related.
He said they received an intelligence report after Luwage was killed that the latter's group would retaliate.
According to the police official, Luwage was a drug lord who took over the drug operations of Steve Go after Go was killed inside the Mandaue City Jail last year.
Luwage also inherited Go's drug supplies and firearms, he said.
Batobalonos said Luwage was Go's right hand.
He said Luwage was also a killer while Go was still alive.
Luwage reportedly killed police assets in Talisay City on Go's orders.
He said they raided Luwage's house in Sitio Crash in Barangay Lawaan 3, Talisay City after they received reports he was selling drugs, but Luwage escaped.
Even though he had gone into hiding, police still filed a case against him for selling illegal drugs. The court ended up issuing a warrant for his arrest, which police served last Monday, Batobalonos said.
The police official was not able to provide details on the killings that were linked to Luwage because he was still assigned in Danao City then.
He believed the men who shot Cinco belonged to Luwage's group.
Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas, Police Regional Office 7 director, shared Batobalonos' sentiment that Cinco's killing was in retaliation for what happened to Luwage.
"This is one of the retaliations of the group of Steve Go because we just recently neutralized Gerly Luwage," Sinas said.
He sent tracker teams to Toledo City to conduct a manhunt for Cinco's killers.
Sinas said he wants them captured immediately, dead or alive.
Because of what happened to Cinco, Sinas ordered police personnel to be extra careful after they received reports that drug personalities were planning to get back at authorities.
Police Colonel Manuel Abrugena, Cebu Provincial Police Office director, visited the Toledo City police last Tuesday for the latest update on the manhunt. (from AYB of SuperVoxPop Cebu with GPL/PJB)