By Jennifer P. Rendon
A man suspected of being a police informant was gunned down on the afternoon of October 5, 2024, in Pavia, Iloilo.
Wilfredo Batican, 42, of NHA Balabag, Pavia, was drinking soda at his roadside fruit stand when motorcycle-riding gunmen shot him.
The attack occurred in front of his wife and their seven-year-old daughter.
The gunmen sped off in the direction of Barangay Aganan, Pavia.
Members of the Pavia Emergency Responders rushed Batican to the nearest hospital, but he did not survive.
Major Dadje Delima, Pavia’s police chief, said the killing could be drug-related.
There were reports that Batican had been a police asset who assisted authorities in arresting drug personalities in the area.
Batican was reportedly a neighbor of brothers Freddie and Daniel Fulgencio, who were arrested on the evening of October 3 in Barangay Balabag.
Authorities recovered around 23 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP160,000 from the brothers.
Another drug peddler from Balabag, identified as Ronnie, 29, was arrested in a separate drug bust on September 5, 2024, and authorities seized suspected shabu worth PHP462,000.
Delima stated that Batican had been confronted about allegedly being a police informant but denied that Batican had helped them in anti-narcotics operations.
Following the shooting, police identified one of the two gunmen involved in Batican’s murder.
Delima said a suspect known as alias Aljon was identified from CCTV footage that captured the suspects fleeing the scene.
Aljon’s distinct tattoo on his right leg helped investigators recognize him. However, the other gunman remains unidentified.
Aljon is reportedly the nephew of Rolando “Apa” Torpio, a known drug personality in Iloilo City.
Torpio was a former sub-group leader of the Odicta Drug Group and a known associate of slain suspected drug lord Melvin Odicta.
Torpio was arrested on June 22, 2017, for a drug-related offense at a relative’s house in Barangay Sto. Domingo, Arevalo, Iloilo City.
Witness in High-Profile Murder Case?
There were reports that Batican may have been a key witness in the murder case of Claire Diergos.
However, police investigators have remained tight-lipped about this.
Batican allegedly witnessed two men loading Diergos’ body into a sports utility vehicle.
Diergos’ body was discovered inside her abandoned vehicle in Barangay Inangayan, Sta. Barbara, on October 25, 2021.
