Guns, goons, gold—the evil election campaign package that the police force has to hit head on.
Taking the challenge, the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) maximizes the intelligence network to track down armed persons and mapping of reported hideouts of contract killers.
Police Provincial Director Dennis Agustin said the BPPO cannot take for granted, initial information about hitmen’s lairs to pre-empt the dark designs of unscrupulous groups getting the services of contract killers.
Zeroing in on loose firearms also addresses the rest in the web of crimes, considering that the illegal drugs ring now makes a liquidation squad a component of the underground organization and the narco-politics behind it that sums up the guns, goons and gold for the upcoming elections.
PSupt. Ricky Delelis, chief of operations and spokesperson of the BPPO, expressed that the police have to brace for the guns and goons that unscrupulous politicians might exploit to ensure victory in the elections that is just about four months away.
Delelis said the police will verify reports that contract killers are holding base in barangays Liloan and Baogo in Inabanga to make sure armed individuals will not be used by unscrupulous politicians in the upcoming elections.
If the information will be found to be true, the police will conduct an initial action to hunt the killers.
Delelis said the police have to act any report on the presence of contract killers, especially that the election is just four months away.
The police will conduct operations in the areas found to be hideouts of guns-for-hire.
He also encouraged the public to report the presence of any suspicious individuals in their neighborhood so that the police can immediately conduct an operation to check on the report.
This is to prevent a bloody election in May.
This cropped up after the suspect in a series of killings, Renato Petalcorin, was spotted and killed in an encounter with the Provincial Public Safety Company patrolling Inabanga on Saturday night.
Renato Petalcorin was killed along with a certain Daniel Calape who was also found to be armed.
Renato Petalcorin was one of the suspects in the murder of of PO3 Herminigildo Abella in 2013, a few months after the intense elections in Inabanga; barangay captain of San Jose, Inabanga–Flora Vitor, barangay captain Randy Jumamoy, Eufemio Ohendras; and in the frustrated murder of Lucino Lumayag.
The police also linked Renato Petalcorin in the illegal drugs activities in Inabanga.
He said they will also investigate Calape who paired with Petalcorin as riding in tandem, considering that both were armed.
On the other hand, the police have already prepared for the implementation of the Commission on Election (Comelec) gun ban from January 10 to June 8.
Police stations will be fielding teams to set up daily checkpoints during the period.
The BPPO also intensified the Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS) by deploying more personnel to the streets and improve police visibility to deter any criminal act.