3 wounded cops lauded for arresting knife attacker unharmed

COTABATO CITY — Three policemen received merit medals after peacefully arresting a drunk, knife-wielding man who had injured them before they managed to subdue him in an incident in Bunawan City, Agusan del Sur, on Thursday, May 29. 

Ranking officials of Police Regional Office-13 told reporters on Friday, May 30, that Executive Master Sgt. Ronald Remy Abastillas, Master Sgt. Frank Ayop Cercados, and Corporal Rysan Buhawe Dalayap chose not to use their firearms when subduing Amancio Asis Barrios, who had stabbed them in various parts of their bodies.

The three officers, assigned to the Bunawan City Police Station, are currently confined in a hospital for treatment.

The three officers were dispatched to Barangay Bunawan Brook in Bunawan City following reports from residents that Barrios, intoxicated and armed with a large knife, was roaming the area and threatening to kill neighbors.

When the police tried to pacify him, Barrios responded with violence, attacking them instead of surrendering peacefully.

Despite their injuries, Abastillas, Cercados, and Dalayap eventually managed to subdue and disarm Barrios

Brig Gen. Christopher Abrahano, director of PRO-13 and his subordinate regional police officials, immediately awarded the three policemen with wounded personnel medals at the hospital where they were being treated.

Local executives in Bunawan City and provincial officials in Agusan del Sur praised Abastillas, Cercados, and Dalayap in radio interviews on Friday for remaining composed and restrained in handling Barrios, despite the dangerous situation.