ILOILO – Mayor Ermelita Salcedo of the municipality of Sara was arrested while a stepson and a grandson were killed in one of 13 simultaneous predawn police raids against loose firearms in four 5th District towns yesterday. The massive police operation involved 300 policemen.
Nerio “Ricky” Salcedo, the mayor’s stepson, and Nixon Salcedo Jr. put up a fight so policemen shot them, according to Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, Western Visayas police director.
Mayor Salcedo was taken to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
Policemen recovered from the mayor’s residence in Barangay Poblacion Ilawod, Sara an M14 rifle, M16 rifle, Ultimax 100 311 rifle, 12-gauge shotgun, AK47 rifle, three .45 pistols, and assorted bullets.
Bulalacao said the mayor failed to present to policemen pertinent gun documents during the raid.
The subject of the raid at the mayor’s residence was actually her husband, former mayor Neptali Salcedo, but he was not around.
Ricky, a former policeman, and Nixon Jr. died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Ricky was actually a subject of a separate search warrant but he was not at his house; he was at his stepmother’s residence with Nixon Jr.
Mayor Salcedo declined to issue a statement. She was also mum on her husband’s whereabouts.
Ricky was dismissed from the police service in November 2015 for serious neglect of duty. Policemen recovered from his possession yesterday a .9mm submachine pistol and from his house (which was just a few meters away from the mayor’s house) a .38 revolver and a .22 rifle.
From Nixon Jr., on the other hand, the police recovered a .45 pistol.
Arrested with Mayor Salcedo was Ricky’s 16-year-old live-in-partner.
Aside from Sara, the other raids were staged in the municipalities of Lemery, Banate and Estancia.
Bulalacao said the campaign against loose firearms would intensify as the 2019 midterm elections draw near.
Five private armed groups (PAGs) were operating in the region, according to Bulalacao.
“We will run after PAGs and criminal gangs being used by politicians,” he stressed.
According to the police director, he received information that some politicians preferred tapping the services of PAGs.
“We conducted simultaneous operations yesterday to ensure that Western Visyas remains peaceful,” said Bulalacao.
The massive raids were carried out by the Iloilo Police Provincial, Iloilo City Police Office, the PRO-6’s Regional Intelligence Division and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
The arrest warrants were issued by Angilyn Mary Quimpo-Sale of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 106 in Quezon City.
The subjects of the other raids and the recoveries were the following:
* Nestor Arante, Barangay Bariga, Banate – .45 pistol black holster and bullets
* Frank George Sanson (manager of Estancia fish port), Barangay Cano-an, Estancia – five sachets of shabu , digital weighing scale, .45 pistol, holster, assorted ammunition, empty bullet shell of caliber .45 pistol
* Noel Salcedo, Barangay Lanciola, Sara – two .45 pistols, seven empty bullets shells of a .45 and assorted ammunition and magazines
* Nixon Salcedo Sr., Barangay Nagsulang, Lemery – a grenade, .45 pistol, assorted bullets, bulletproof vest
Only Arante, however, was arrested. Bulalacao said Sanson, Noel Salcedo and Nixon Salcedo Sr. were not in their houses.
Noel was a brother-in-law of Mayor Salcedo while Nixon Sr. was a son of former mayor Neptali Salcedo from a previous relationship.
Meanwhile, raids on the following subjects’ houses in Sara yielded negative:
*James “Jaguar” Balsomo I
* Atty. James Blacomo II
* Barangay Captain Henry Balume (Barangay Del Castillo)
* Barangay Captain Rexie Paciente
* former barangay captain Jaunny Buhayan Dermo (Barangay Muyco)
* Barangay Captain Gully Balume (Barangay Anoring)/PN
