ILOILO City – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar urged witnesses in the shooting of a 29-year-old man during an anti-drug operation in Barangay North Baluarte, Molo district here on June 29 to surface.
“Ako ay personal na nangangako ng inyong proteksyon kung meron ngang kamalian na nangyari ditto,” said Eleazar.
He ordered the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) to investigate the shooting.
While it’s standard protocol for the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) to review police operations that result in injuries and deaths, Eleazar wanted the “mistaken identity” angle in the Molo operation further explored.
“Kung kayo ay may alam sa nangyaring ito, nararapat lang na panindigan ang katotohanan sa ngalan ng hustisya,” Eleazar appealed to witnesses.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, spokesperson of the PRO-6, the regional police’s IAS under Police Colonel Roger James Brillantes would lead the probe.
Karl Daniel Bolante was shot dead by Police Corporal Rodanre Lopez of the city’s Police Station 1 around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday last week.
Lopez acted as poseur-buyer in a buy-bust operation targeting drug suspect John Dave Mendoza of Barangay Rizal Pala-Pala here.
In an earlier interview with Panay News, Police Captain Shella Mae Sangrines, chief of Police Station 1, said the buy-bust was “a legitimate operation” against Mendoza. However, she said, Bolante was shot and killed for allegedly attempting to lob a grenade at policemen.
The family of Bolante said he was walking home when shot.
They denied he was armed.
Eleazar urged witnesses to surface and “tulungan tayo na mahanap ang katotohanan.”
Sangrines vowed to cooperate in the investigation.
“We will provide all the information they need,” Sangrines said.
The Commission on Human Rights in Region 6 mulls a parallel investigation.
Buy-bust target Mendoza was described as a “street level” drug pusher arrested in a buy-bust operation in 2017.
He availed himself of a plea bargaining agreement from the court and was released in Nov. 25, 2020.
Operatives seized two sachets of suspected shabu valued at P6,000, P2,000 buy-bust money, an M26 grenade and a revolver (without serial number) loaded with five bullets./PN
