Duterte offers P1M reward for capture of 4 intel cops’ killers

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte presides over a command conference with the officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police during his visit to Camp Lt. Col. Francisco C. Fernandez Jr. in Sibulan, Negros Oriental on July 20, 2019. ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte is offering a PHP1 million reward for any information that would lead to the arrest of perpetrators responsible for the killing of the four police personnel in an ambush in Sitio Yamot, Barangay Mabato in Ayungon town, Negros Oriental on July 18.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo bared this after confirming that Duterte visited the wake of the four police personnel to condole with the bereaved families on Saturday (July 20) night.

After the wake, Panelo said Duterte convened a Command Conference with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police where the developments relative to the investigation on the incident were discussed.

“According to the Chief Executive, a PHP1 million reward will be given for the capture, whether dead or alive, of the masterminds, perpetrators, and main shooters of the four police intel personnel,” Panelo said in a statement on Sunday (July 21).

Panelo said that a PHP50,000 reward will also be given for the capture, of all the conspirators involved in the crime.

Meanwhile, Panelo expressed condolences to all the loved ones of the slain policemen and ensured that justice will be served to those behind what he described as a “condemnable offense.”

“The full force of the law will come crushing down on the perpetrators,” Panelo said.

The slain cops were Cpl. Relebert Beronio, Pat. Raffy Callao, Pat. Ruel Cabellon, and Pat. Marquino de Leon.

They are all intelligence personnel from the 704th Mobile Force Company Regional Mobile Force Battalion of the PNP in Central Visayas.

Reports showed that the four cops were on their way to the detachment at Sitio Nabinca when they were surprised by armed men suspected to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) listed as terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The four were shot in different parts of their bodies that caused their instantaneous death.