IT COULD be mixed emotions for the Ilonggos… disbelief, happiness, confusion and even doubt. Richard Prevendido, the “drug lord standing” of Iloilo (and Western Visayas), is dead. The other drug lord was killed already in a somewhat confusing circumstance.
Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba, Iloilo Provincial Police Office director and ground commander of “Co-Plan Bato Bantiling Charlie,” confirmed that it took them eight months to pin down Richard Prevendido in his safe house in Balabago, Jaro, Iloilo City (Friday evening).
Congratulations Swat team! Tayaba claimed that the operating team used drones to really confirm that Prevendido is inside the house. The Swat team could be compared to the US team when Osama bin Laden was raided… except that Prevendido had no bodyguards, only his nephew Jason who was killed also.
The authority came out with a “convincing script” that gave birth to several questions and speculations. Richard Prevendido is a “person of special interest” in Western Visayas being alleged as a “big time drug lord” connected to high heavens and bottom of hell. Prevendido got friends in socio-politico-military-circle and all of them enjoy “cordial benefit.” Is he? Are they?
Tayaba confirmed that Prevendido was a “hard-moving target” that they had to recruit his own men to have access and get information from the drug lord. He added that they did operational research to identify all the properties of Prevendido, including his distant and near relatives who might have kept this “person of special interest.” Many eyebrows have been raised. Is Tayaba planning to publish the biography of Richard Prevendido before his arrest?
The research was in detail and turned out to be sophisticated. Like a “run-away fugitive,” the research team made Prevendido a “hopping tourist” also. His hiding places are tourist attractions… a beach in San Joaquin, Iloilo; a rest house in Daragan, Buenavista, Guimaras; a breeding farm in Pavia, Iloilo. With his itinerary, Department of Tourism-6 (Western Visayas) Director Helen Catalbas could have appointed him as “ambassador of tourism.”
Prevendido was also able to stay in Oton, Iloilo; Dumarao, Capiz; Buenavista, Guimaras; towns of Dumangas, Janiuay, and Lambunao according to the operational research team of Tayaba. If he was seen in these places, how come our policemen were not able to apprehend him?
How much is the reason? Or, that simply confirms that he is “untouchable”. You can see him but cannot touch him because he is holy and protected by his guardian angels.
Things happened so fast when President Digong started to pound heavily on Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and the blasted mayor had no choice but to make Richard Prevendido a “very much wanted person” with a price for his head.
The ego and the “balls” of the policemen in the region were hit because Digong and Bato were spewing out lava from their nostrils.
The policemen in Western Visyas had no option left. They could no longer protect their “alleged enemy” or put it the other way around. Richard Prevendido was too hot to keep that he burned his own container… and one unlucky Friday night, he was raided by the SWAT team. Probably… only probably he got that premonition that his rented house would be raided.
He spread oil on the stairs and on the floor of the house that caused the members of the raiding team to stumble several times.
The scene could be compared to “Home Alone Part 1” or could be okay for us to laugh at the thieves at the movie but not okay to die laughing while the Swat team members made themselves clowns. The playwright could have improved the script to pass the taste of Director Peque Gallaga in his subject Acting 101.
Anyway, Richard Prevendido is dead and dead man tells no tale. The Pope of Rome after reading his biography prepared by the operational research teams has no intention to canonize him as a “drug lord saint.” He is dead but it doesn’t mean that drug selling and drug buying activities in Western Visayas have stopped. Any student of Business Management knows that drug franchise in Western Visayas has been institutionalized already in towns and cities.
Prevendido is just “that guy.” More guys are still out there. They could be more friendly and attractive. Can the Philippine National Police operational team write more scripts for them? Some police officers need to be promoted. Congratulations to the job well done! More questions and speculations could be added to this Iloilo drug story.
