No vigilantes in Bohol

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — The vigilante theory has been revived again with the recent shooting incidents in this city where the victims had been tagged as “public enemies” for their alleged involvement in illegal activities.

Superintendent George Vale, City Police chief, however, clarified that there is no vigilante in Bohol and he is not also amenable to the vigilante-style of getting rid of criminals.

There are transparent, legal and efficient means to rid a place of criminals, not vigilantism, he told The Freeman.

Insinuations about vigilantes cropped up after the social media attributed the recent shooting incidents to them, such as the January 29 killing of 19-year-old John Vincent Villela, a resident of Capitol Site in Barangay Cogon, this city.

Villela, who was gunned down at the Capitol Site area by an unidentified person, was in the police records showing he was implicated in theft and robbery incidents.

Police investigations showed that Villela, who died on the spot with multiple gunshot wounds, had two companions who managed to escape during the attack.

Scene of the crime operatives recovered from the victim a small pink container containing two small transparent sachets of shabu and some drug paraphernalia.

The SOCO also recovered four fired cartridge cases of a .45-caliber, and one fired slug. About two hours earlier, another shooting incident transpired along CPG East Avenue in this city.

Based on initial reports, a motorist personally appeared at the city police station at around 10:50 p.m. on January 28 to inform that a shooting incident transpired in the area.

A team of police officers immediately proceeded to the area to verify the report. Based on initial investigation, the victim was walking along the area, when a man driving a motorcycle suddenly shot him several times.

The victim was hit in different parts of the body, but managed to leave the area and headed towards the Boholand Area; while the gunman also left. Responding cops recovered two fired cartridges cases of .45-caliber bullets. The victim is now recuperating at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital.

In the follow-up investigation, it was learned that the victim, Robien Pahang, a 25-year-old resident of Katipunan Street in Mansasa District, this city, had been implicated in incidents of robbery.

Police record showed that Pahang had been arrested before for the crime of theft and robbery with force upon things. Investigators are still finding out if the two shooting incidents was a handiwork of the same gunman.  (FREEMAN)