By Glazyl M. Jopson
BACOLOD CITY – A 35-year-old laborer is under hospital arrest after being wounded in a police shootout in Spur 14, Barangay Bunga, Don Salvador Benedicto (DSB), Negros Occidental, on Saturday.
Police served a search warrant for illegal firearms and ammunition against a suspect identified only as “Ricky.”
As operatives approached the area, the suspect allegedly sensed their presence and fired at police, prompting them to return fire in a brief armed encounter.
Police Capt. Ignacio Javier, deputy chief of DSB Municipal Police Station, said the suspect was initially hit in the shoulder, but they have yet to confirm the extent of his injuries, as they are still waiting for a copy of his medical record.
Two policemen have been stationed at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) to guard the suspect, who is now recuperating.
Javier said the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 47 issued the search warrant for violations of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Law.
He said the suspect had previous complaints against him for threats and illegal discharge of a firearm, which led authorities to verify the reports and later apply for a search warrant.
Recovered during the raid were a .45 caliber pistol, six rounds of ammunition, a magazine, and a fired bullet.
Police also confiscated 16 sachets of suspected shabu weighing 45 grams, valued at PHP306,000, along with a lighter and a weighing scale.
Javier said Ricky was recently identified in the drug watchlist but had already been under monitoring after his name surfaced from previously arrested drug suspects.
Aside from Ricky, three other individuals were arrested inside an abandoned house after they were allegedly caught having a “pot session” during the raid.
The suspects, all male, were identified as residents of the village and are aged 18, 21, and 22.
Police seized from them three grams of suspected shabu worth PHP20,400.
Charges for illegal possession of dangerous drugs are being prepared against the four suspects.
Ricky will face additional charges for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, as his gun was unlicensed.
Meanwhile, 11 individuals were also apprehended in separate buy-bust operations in Bacolod City and four other areas in the province from March 12 to 15.
These operations resulted in the seizure of a total of PHP1.92 million worth of suspected shabu.
Of the total, the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) confiscated PHP1.27 million worth of illegal drugs from five individuals on Friday.
The City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) led the first operation in Barangay Singcang-Airport, where two suspects, aged 32 and 54, were arrested.
Police seized 82 grams of suspected shabu valued at PHP557,600 from them.
In another operation in Barangay 33, Police Station 6 arrested a 30-year-old woman and confiscated five grams of suspected shabu worth PHP34,000.
CDEU operatives later conducted a separate operation in Barangay Tangub, where two individuals, aged 28 and 41, were apprehended.
Police confiscated 100 grams of suspected shabu valued at PHP680,000 from the suspects.
Police Lt. Richard Legada, CDEU assistant chief, said the operations were not connected, as authorities had separately monitored the suspects.
In the province, six individuals were arrested in the cities of Silay, Victorias, and Escalante, and in the town of Pontevedra.
These arrests led to the confiscation of PHP649,672 worth of suspected shabu.
