The shooting incidents in Bacong, Negros Oriental in the past two months were all traced to the illegal drug trade, police officials said on Thursday.

Captain Stephen Jaynard Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NORPPO), said all five shootings took place in Bacong, with one cleared, another solved and the rest still under investigation.

“Based on investigation, police in Bacong have found that the recent shooting incidents were all related to the illegal drug trade,” Polinar said.

Polinar said while all were drug-related, investigators are still checking if these cases are connected.

Police provincial director Colonel Timmar Alam said he has ordered a thorough investigation into the shooting incidents and has confirmed the relief of the Bacong police chief recently under the two-strike policy of the Philippine National Police.

“The two-strike policy still applies to police chiefs who are relieved of their duties for failing to solve successive shooting incidents in their assigned stations,” Alam said.

The latest shooting incident in Bacong occurred in Barangay North Poblacion on the evening of May 16, when two unidentified male suspects on board a motorcycle shot the victim, who was also driving a motorcycle.

Three other shootings happened in Barangay Banilad on April 12 and 23, and May 3; and one took place in Liptiong on March 15.

Out of the five shooting incidents, four were classified as murder and one as frustrated murder.

Timmar noted that his priority programs in the fight against crime include illegal drugs and loose firearms.

Meanwhile, Timmar assured the public there is no organized gun-for-hire group in the province.

He said he believes these people merely “come and go” based on their goals or purposes and do not remain in one location for an extended period. (PNA)