Authorities out to serve various arrest orders failed to bag an alleged ranking Communist officer wanted for a string of criminal charges as gunfight broke out in a closed beach resort in Barangay Talomo Proper, Talomo District, past Monday midnight.
A caretaker, name withheld, was instead placed under the custody of the Investigation and Detection Management Branch Investigation of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) following the armed encounter.
In an interview yesterday, Chief Supt. Marcelo Morales, the police regional director, said the still-at-large suspect Ernie del Pilar, alias Ka Jeffrey, the commander of the Pulang Bagani Command 1 (PBC1) of the New People’s Army, is a high-valued target.
Jeffrey has a standing warrant of arrest order for murder (two counts), serious illegal detention, robbery in band and attempted murder, said Sr. Insp. Maria Theresita Gaspan, the DCPO spokesperson.
Ka Jeffrey reportedly assumed the leadership of PBC 1 following the arrest of Elizalde Canete, alias Ka Jinggoy, at a hospital in Bukidnon last May 28.
Morales said Jeffrey and his group are part of the Red October out to create destabilization in the city.
He said they have monitored Jeffrey’s group roaming in the city since October, and they are part of the group that was busted in Barangay Langub, Talomo District.
The group was recently reported to have been hiding in the now non-operational Victorio Beach Resort in Purok 10, Talomo Cemento, Talomo Proper.
“We received information from the community that various groups of men were coming in and out of the resort despite it was already non-operational,” Morales said. “So we conducted intelligence surveillance and we verified.”
Past Monday midnight, a joint operation by agents of the DCPO led by city director Sr. Supt. Alexander Tagum, the Task Force Davao led by commander Col. Nolasco Mempin, the Regional Mobile Force Battalion led by Supt. Maximo Sebastian Jr., the Army’s 3rd Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Oscar Partuza, and other support police and military units were out to arrest Jeffrey.
As the agents arrived at the compound around 1:30 a.m., they were instead attacked by the rebels, said to be members of the NPA’s liquidation squad known as Sparu Special Operations Group (SOG).
Aside from peppering them with bullets, the rebels allegedly lobbed several fragmentation grenades to the government troopers.
However, there was no report of any casualty.
"There was a premature approach,” Morales admitted. “The operatives were yet in their position, yet the subject lookouts already detected their presence.”
“Our agents were compromised,” Morales said in vernacular.
Due to darkness and the informal settlers in the vicinity, the suspects were able to escape.
“They took advantage of the darkness,” Morales said, adding that they did not chase the suspects because there were several residents in the area who may be in peril.
The beach resort is located in a secluded area near the mouth of Talomo River.
Morales said there was no police and military checkpoint in the vicinity.
Investigators from the Scene of the Crime Operative (SOCO), led by Sr. Supt. Mag-ab, recovered five claymore mines, two anti-personnel improvised explosive devices (EIDs), an M-16 rifle loaded with one magazine with 20 pieces of live ammunition, one short magazine loaded with 16 live ammunition, assorted live ammunition and empty shells, an air gun, two pellet guns, two grenade safety levers, batteries and electrical wires.
Also recovered were assorted electrical tools and electrical tapes, a laptop with charger, assorted USB flash drives, one cellphone, DVDs and subversive documents.
The recovered IEDs are now under the custody of DCPO’s Explosive Ordnance team while the recovered firearms and ammunition were turned over to the Regional Crime Laboratory for proper disposition.
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