The police are investigating two violent incidents that left a policemen and a civilian dead in upland Calatrava, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, Dec. 7.
The police said the first attack happened around 7:50 a.m. in Sitio Tagda, Brgy. Dolis, where a 58-year-old man preparing for Sunday mass was shot twice in the head by six armed men who later fled toward the mountainous area of the barangay.
The area, located about 15 kilometers from the Calatrava Municipal Police Station, is inaccessible to vehicles because of rough terrain and poor weather.
Responding teams hiked to the site to conduct an investigation.
A second incident occurred at around 10:50 a.m. when personnel of the 1st Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company encountered armed men during a warrant service operation in Brgy. Menchaca.
A brief firefight erupted, and police said the suspects were believed to be the same group responsible for the shooting in Brgy. Dolis.
During the exchange, PSenior Master Sergeant Rommel Aguilar of the 3rd Maneuver Platoon was reported missing after troops were forced to disperse due to hostile fire and the terrain.
At around 12:30 p.m., Brgy. Captain Vicente Maquiller of Laga-an reported a body found in Purok 5, another remote site about 20 kilometers from the town proper.
Residents told police that the victim attempted to ask for help before six armed men arrived and shot him.
Authorities later confirmed the slain victim was Aguilar.
Police Regional Office- Negros Island Regional Director, Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, condemned the attacks, calling the killing of the police officer “a deep tragedy for the entire PRO NIR family”.
He said all resources are being mobilized to track down the perpetrators and restore peace in affected upland communities.
Police and Army units, including the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, the Regional Mobile Force Battalion–NIR, and investigative teams from Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, have launched joint pursuit and blocking operations across Calatrava’s upland zones.
Investigators said the motive behind the attacks remains under investigation.*