By CESAR JOLITO III
A 38-year-old police officer was killed while two others were injured during a buy-bust operation against an alleged street-level drug personality at Barangay Talaptap in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana town late Monday night, May 11.
Police Master Sergeant Davy Carampatana succumbed to fatal stab wounds after a street-level individual, 41-year-old suspect Edward Acupan, the subject of the operation, allegedly resisted arrest and suddenly attacked the operating team using a double-bladed weapon.
Carampatana was declared dead on arrival at the La Castellana Rural Health Unit.
Police Captain Michael Muñez, La Castellana police deputy chief, sustained multiple stab wounds and is currently confined at Bacolod Doctors Hospital in stable condition.
Police Corporal Gerson Guache also suffered minor injuries.
Meanwhile, Acupan sustained injuries during the incident and is now under police custody while receiving treatment at the La Castellana Rural Health Unit.
His mother, 68-year-old Delia Acupan, is likewise under police custody pending the filing of appropriate charges.
During the operation, Delia allegedly joined the attack and repeatedly stabbed the operatives during the confrontation.
Authorities recovered several sachets of suspected shabu worth an estimated P47,600, buy-bust money, drug paraphernalia, and bladed weapons allegedly used in the attack.
Mourn
Police Brigadier General Romano Cardiño, acting director of the Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), expressed condolences to the family of the slain officer, describing Carampatana as a hero who “paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.”
“His courage and dedication to the service of the people will never be forgotten,” Cardiño said.
The PRO-NIR honored Carampatana, who rendered service in the Philippine National Police for 16 years, for a life “lived with purpose, integrity and sacrifice.”
Police said investigation and filing of charges against the suspects are ongoing while the regional forensic unit continues processing the crime scene.
Carampatana is the second police officer in NIR killed during illegal drug operations this year, after Master Sergeant Romulo Galvez Jr., who was gunned down during an operation in Bacolod on April 10./CJ, WDJ