3 town cops “ambushed”?

BUENAVISTA, BOHOL, Philippines – Three police officers of this town “were ambushed” by still unidentified armed men in hinterland Barangay Lapacan Norte here at past 8 p.m. last Friday (Nov. 13), but probers remained clueless on the circumstances and the motive.

PO1 Nicolas Aparilla, in an interview, said one of the three policemen, PO3 Ireneo Egar was hit on his left foot while the other two, PO1 Roger Nobleza and PO3 Lucio Carael, were unharmed.

Aparilla said the incident, which he did not considered as ambush, occurred while the three were each riding a motorcycle on a convoy from Sta. Fe, Danao town on their way to this town passing through the police detachment in Bongao, Inabanga town on that fateful night.

Based on initial investigation and testimonies of some residents, police said there were six shots of .38-caliber fired at the policemen, said Aparilla.

Nobleza’s motorcycle was left behind following the shooting because he had to “run” for his life from the scene, Aparilla said.

Inabanga policemen were deployed as reinforcement in tracking down the perpetrators but they all returned empty-handed.

Bohol Provincial Police director Sr. Supt. Constantino Barot, Jr., said in a radio interview here that it was not the New People’s Army who staged the attack. (FREEMAN)