By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) clarified that the incident at Sitio Upper Ikugan in Calatrava town’s Barangay Minapasuk on Wednesday morning, August 9, was an encounter and not an ambush.
NOCPPO spokesperson, Police Captain Judesses Catalogo, said 10 personnel from Calatrava police station were dispatched not just to respond to a murder incident before the encounter, but also to serve arrest warrants against two alleged leaders of the New People’s Army (NPA) who were spotted in the area.
Catalogo identified the two alleged NPA leaders as Darry Dayawan and Charity Amacan, who were accused of being involved in the murder of a village chief and a kagawad in Calatrava.
He said a third police officer, identified as Police Corporal Frank Caballero, was wounded in the clash.
Caballero only discovered that he was wounded during the gun battle after his mother found bullet graze wounds on his back.
However, Catalogo said Caballero’s wounds were not serious.
Calatrava deputy police chief, Captain Jesus Alba, has already been discharged from the hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the leg.
Police Corporal Dennis Nasis underwent surgery yesterday morning after he sustained gunshot wounds to his abdomen and shoulder.
Catalogo said Nasis is in a stable condition, and he had already received a combined P90,000 cash assistance for his surgery and medication.
Earlier, Lt. Colonel Joem Malong, NOCPPO deputy director for operations, said Alba and Nasis, who are being treated in separate hospitals, are already out of danger.
“This is the saddest day for us because we have one casualty. We also have two wounded personnel,” Malong said in a radio interview.
The family of the lone fatality, Police Corporal Jayme Nuñez, has also received initial cash assistance of P30,000 from the Police Regional Office in Western Visayas (PRO-6).
Catalogo said they are already processing additional aid for the slain cop’s next of kin.
Nuñez is also expected to receive a posthumous award for his actions in the gun battle.
Meanwhile, PRO-6 director, Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor, in a statement yesterday, said he strongly condemned the incident, saying it shows the “true color and deceitful nature” of the armed group.
“PRO-6 is saddened by the demise of Police Corporal Nuñez and the injury incurred by two others, who performed their duty with zeal and dedication to deliver justice to the victims of crime and their families,” Villaflor said.
“We are one with the family in condemning the terroristic act committed by the CTGs [communist terrorist groups] who wanted to spread fear and chaos to the peaceful community of Barangay Minapasok. I urge everyone to help us in our battle against terrorism, for our family and for our country,” he added./DGB, WDJ