Camanava’s most wanted man slain in shootout

MANILA, Philippines - The most wanted man in Camanava was killed in Malabon City in a reported shootout with members of the Northern Police District (NPD) yesterday.

Michael Ignacio, 29, alleged head of the Michael Bulag robbery gang, was declared dead in Tondo General Hospital after sustaining gunshot wounds in the chest and abdomen, said Chief Inspector Romeo Ricalde, head of the district’s special operation unit (DSOU).

NPD’s deputy district director for operations Senior Superintendent Pepito Pacada said the two-minute gunfight took place as members of the DSOU and the district’s anti-illegal drugs (DAID) were about to serve Ignacio his arrest warrant at his shanty along Pla-pla street in Dagat-Dagatan about 10:30 a.m.

“As we approached the alley toward his house, his neighbors started shouting ‘may pulis, may pulis (cops, cops)’ as if warning him of our presence,” Ricalde told The STAR in a separate interview.

When they reached Ignacio’s shanty, all lights were off. Police Officer 1 Nepthali Buensocezo of DAID opened the door and was greeted with a gunshot, prompting the NPD men to fire back.

“Buensocezo survived because of his bulletproof vest. We knew Ignacio  would not allow us to catch him alive so the cops went there in complete battle gear,” Ricalde said.

Ignacio faced several murder, robbery, and drug pushing cases. He reportedly frequently operated in Caloocan and Malabon and had been under NPD surveillance for two months.

He became the district’s most wanted – and ninth all over Metro Manila – after he was tagged in a series of killings in the Camanava area from 2011 to 2013, Ricalde said.

The northern Metro Manila cities of Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela) are under the direct supervision of NPD.