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PDEA agent’s slay linked to anti-drug drive

URDANETA CITY (May 19) — A lone gunman shot dead an operative of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) regional office with a single bullet Tuesday last week.

SPO1 Alfredo Ki, 45, a member of PDEA based in Lingayen, died instantly after his attacker fled towards McArthur Highway in a motorcycle driven by a companion which headed southward, police said.

The police were able to recover an empty shell of a .45 caliber pistol. Bystanders said they heard a single gunshot during the incident.

Police said according to witnesses, Ki and his wife Leonida, had gone canvassing for automible spare parts in Starmann Autosupply after which they boarded their Mitsubshi Lancer vehicle. Ki, a resident of Brgy. Casantiaguan, Binalonan, was about to maneuver when the gunman sat beside him and shot him on the left temple.

Leonida, shocked and hysterical at first the police said, could not identify the attacker’s physical attributes. She told the police her slain husband was not receiving any death threats before the incident but was actively engaged in illegal-drug crackdown.

Urdaneta’s new Chief of Police Col. Jhonny Bacbac said the killing could be work-related. He said, “Whoever is behind this killing would answer to Ki’s death”.

Investigators said witnesses described the gunman as 5’5" in height, medium-built and square-faced.

Reshuffle

Meanwhile, a reassignment in the police chief post took effect on Tuesday morning following an order for Bacbac to replace Police Supt. Manuel Obrera who was relieved and reassigned to the Police Provincial Office in Lingayen.

Asked whether the replacement was related to the unsolved cases of killing and hold-up incidents in this city, Bacbac said: “No truth on that, we only had our regular reassignments as ordered by our superiors”.

Turn-over rites were held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. barely two hours after the murder.

Mayor Amadeo Perez expressed confidence on the chief’s brand of leadership.

“My first order was for the police to look into crimes as a priority,” Perez said.

Although the incidents were isolated cases, he said, it could later affect the peace and order situation in the locality.

“So far the police is in control but we are taking extra precautions and [we have] enforced them to increase police visibility starting Tuesday,” he said. # Jhong dela Cruz for NORDIS

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