By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Police Regional Office-18 (PRO-18) Director, Police Chief Superintendent Edmund Gonzales, released a directive to the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to protect the family of former Berya drug group member Ricky Serenio.
In a report by TV Patrol Negros, Gonzales said he strongly believes the killings of Wilfredo and Wilmar Serenio are connected to illegal drugs. He also believes the suspects may also target more Serenio kin, with Ricky himself not targeted because he is under PRO-18 protection.
Serenio, meanwhile, said he is concerned over the safety of his family.
“I’m really anxious about the safety of my family,” he said. “After I bury my father, I have to take my family someplace else.”
The former Berya group member added, the suspects in the latest incident are the same policemen he named in his second affidavit and has validated Gonzales’ statement on police protection.
Serenio is also asking for protection from Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) consultant and Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Peña.
Earlier on Monday evening, Wilfredo Serenio was shot by riding-in-tandem suspects at Purok Sampaguita 1, Barangay Singcang-Airport.
Based on investigations made by Police Station 8 (PS8), the elder Serenio was talking to another individual during a power outage when he was approached and shot by two gunmen aboard a white motorcycle.
BCPO acting director, Police Senior Superintendent Jack Wanky, stated they are now following several leads as to the identities of the gunmen.
The younger Serenio was arrested in January by members of the Regional Special Operations Task Group-18 (RSOTG-18), and he later revealed the names of law enforcement officers in the province allegedly receiving protection money from the Berya drug group./WDJ