BACOLOD City – Four wounded policemen and 34 other police personnel who took part in the firearms search operation in Cauayan, Negros Occidental last Thursday received medals from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The injured officers – Police Officer 3 Reynaldo Bauden Jr., Police Officer 2 Rolando Algje Prieto, Senior Police Officer 2 Bryan Tabon, and Police Officer 1 Gary Norico – were conferred with the Philippine National Police (PNP) Wounded Personnel Medal while the others, the PNP Medal of Merit.
Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) spokeswoman Inspector Charmae de Paz said on Friday that the 34 police officers received their medals from PRO-6 director Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag at the Nocppo headquarters.
The injured officers, on the other hand, got their medals when Binag went to their hospital rooms in Bacolod on the day of the operation.
Around 4:45 a.m. on May 17, the police officers were out to search the houses of Rodel Taquiso and Salem Teodosio in Sitio Matab-ang, Barangay Masaling, Cauayan.
Taquiso and Teodosio were suspected of illegally possessing firearms in violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, the Nocppo said.
But several armed men fired at the arresting officers, prompting the latter to retaliate, added the Nocppo.
The armed men were believed caretakers of the house. Nocppo said they were suspected members of the Galendez gun-for-hire group.
Aside from the four officers and four armed men, two civilians were also injured in the shootout.
Firearms and ammunition were recovered from the house. (With a report from PNA/PN)
