11 Bulacan cops sacked for killing 6 drug suspects

PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa fired the 11 cops of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, who were involved in the murder of six drug suspects in a buy-bust operation in February.

According to PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, 11 policemen who have been charged with kidnapping with murder, are in PNP restrictive custody.

Authorities identified the suspects as PMajor Leo Commendador Dela Rosa; PStaff Sergeants Benjie Enconado, Jayson Legaspi, Irwin Yuson, Edmund Catubay Jr; P / Corporals Jay Leoncio, Herbert Hernandez, Raymond Bayan, Raul Malgapo; and Patrolmen Erwin Sabido and Rusco Audience.

Gamboa, on the other hand, assured the full cooperation and support of the PNP with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for a more in-depth investigation into the 11 policemen who are all members of the Drug Enforcement Unit of the San Jose Del Monte City Police Station who forged a buy-bust operation report.

Bulacan cops earlier said that six were drug suspects and died as a result of the exchange of gunfire after attempting to flee.

But according to the NBI, the suspects were arrested in front of Dela Rosa’s house and taken to his office where they were tied up while blindfolded.

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11 Bulacan cops sacked for killing 6 drug suspects

A few days later, the NBI said, the police took the victims to a spot two at a time to a dark and secluded area on Pacolis Road in Barangay Gaya-Gaya. There the alleged drug suspects where were shot dead and made to appear as though they resisted arrest in a “fabricated” buy-bust operation.

In February, the Bulacan cops released a press statement that said Mergal and Cordero were drug suspects who were killed in a “drug sting” on Pacolis Road around 12:20 am of February 18. The report added a third suspect named Egay escaped on a motorcycle.

Mergal and Cordero, it said, “shot it out with the operatives while trying to escape when they sensed that they were dealing with a poseur police buyer, leaving the law enforcers no choice but to defend themselves.”

The press statement added the killed drug suspects were included on the watch list of the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.