CONGRATULATIONS are in order for the Police Regional Office 7 in Central Visayas headed by Brigadier General Anthony Aberin for scoring a series of major anti-crime accomplishments in the region since last week earning them praises from PNP chief, General Benjie Acorda.

On Monday, PRO7 agents gunned down a suspected ‘hitman’ of suspended Negros Oriental (3rd District) Representative Arnie Teves identified as Alex Mayagma after more than three months of surveillance, Brig. Gen. Aberin, a member of PNP Academy Class 1993 told me.

The end of the road for Mayagma came late Monday morning when officers from the PRO7 Regional Intelligence Division and the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office headed by Colonel Ronan Claravall tracked him down inside a game farm in Barangay Minaba said to be owned by the suspended lawmaker. The PRO7 director said their operation was also supported by the PNP Special Action Force’s 63rd Special Action Company and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group

Brig. Gen. Aberin said that his men were forced to fire at the suspect when he violently resisted their attempt to place him under arrest. The suspect was initially disarmed of his rifle by one of the officers but attempted to pull out his other weapon concealed inside his sling bag prompting the lawmen to fire on him. He died while being taken to a nearby hospital.

A former director of the PNP Aviation Security Group and deputy director of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Brig. Gen. Aberin said the whole operation was captured by the Body-Worn Cameras utilized by the operatives.

According to the official, the slain suspect is the subject of four non-bailable warrants of arrest for murder, all issued by Judge Maria Myla Rae Santos Orden of the Bayawan City Regional Trial Court on March 30, May 10 and November 17, 2022.

The suspected Tees hitman is also the subject of two pending warrants of arrest for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013 and violation of the Omnibus Election Code or the gun ban imposed by the Commission on Elections, Aberin said.

“This guy is very slippery. In fact, he managed to slip past by my men at least four times in separate operations in Cebu province, in San Carlos City and in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, in Balamban ,Cebu and in Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental over the past three months,” said the PRO7 director.

“The neutralization of Mayagma was the result of a tedious intelligence-driven operation. To the people of Negros Oriental, as promised by this government, your PRO 7 will conduct bold and impactful operations against hardened criminals to swiftly serve justice to those victimized by heinous crimes with the assurance that violence and lawlessness will have no place in your beloved province,” Brig. Gen. Aberin said.

The official said that in-depth investigation is now underway to find out why the slain suspect was present in the area said to be owned by the suspended Negros Oriental lawmaker who has been considered as a ‘fugitive because he is acting like one,’ according to Justice Secretary Boying Remulla.

The killing of Mayagma came just shortly before the Anti-Terrorist Council officially designated Rep. Teves’ and his armed group as ‘terrorists.’

The ‘terrorist group’ tag was given to Teves and his armed follows by the ATC after a thorough investigation into their activities particularly their involvement in various violent incidents that have caused harm to the residents of Negros Oriental, the ATC said in a statement.

“The decision to designate Cong. Teves and his armed group as terrorists were made based on compelling evidence and factual incidents,” it said.

“In the case of the Teves Terrorist Group, the province of Negros Oriental has witnessed a series of killings, threats of bodily harm or injuries and harassment with the intention of intimidating its general populace. These heinous acts have created an atmosphere of fear, severely affecting the personal life and liberty of the residents within the region,” the ATC added.

The suspended lawmaker has been accused of masterminding the March 4, 2023 attack inside the compound of Negros Oriental Governor Roel R. Degamo which killed the latter and nine others.

The gunmen armed with automatic rifles were found to be former military personnel and one of the was a former New People’s Army when they disguised themselves as Armed Forces personnel to gain entry inside the Degamo compound before shooting the victims without any provocation. Eighteen other individuals were also wounded during the attack.

The PRO7 also captured two top drug targets in Central Visayas following separate buy-bust operations in the region late last week which resulted in the confiscation of an estimated P44.2 million worth of shabu.

One of the two suspects identified as Robert Bonghanoy Fernan, a known ‘high-value individual’ in Region 7 yielded around 5.5 kilograms of the so-called ‘poor man’s cocaine’ during a sting in Talisay City in Cebu around 10 p.m. Sunday.

Udercover officers from the Station Drug Enforcement Unit of the Talisay City Police Station, backed up by personnel from the PRO7 Regional Intelligence Division and the Cebu Police Provincial Office Drug Enforcement Unit and Provincial Intelligence Unit conducted the buy-bust operation.

Recovered during the operation in Purok Kawayan in Sitio Kimba, Bgy. San Roque in Talisay City were 11 heat-sealed plastic packets containing the huge volume of shabu and the buy-bust money topped by two marked P1,000 bills. The suspect was locked-up at the Talisay City police jail.

The 31-year old suspect, a resident of Purok Avocado in Bgy. Maghaway, Talisay City also yielded a caliber .45 semi-automatic pistol with a magazine containing two live ammunition. His motorcycle was impounded by the local police.

The 2nd suspect identified as Noel Borbajo alias ‘Talyo,’ a 40-year old resident of Purok Nangka in Bgy. Tawason in Mandaue City was arrested after he sold a kilo of shabu worth P6.8 million to a poseur in Mandaue City last Saturday.

The suspect who was detained at the Mandaue police lock-up facility yielded 17 pieces of heat-sealed plastic sachets containing a total of 1,000 grams of shabu and the buy-bust money topped by a marked P1,000 bill.Undercover officers from the Mandaue City Police Office headed by Colonel Jeffrey T. Caballes conducted the entrapment operation in Sitio Pilit in Bgy. Cabancalan 9:20 p.m. Saturday following weeks of surveillance triggered by complaints about the suspect’s involvement in big-time drug trafficking activities in the city.

The two were the 3rd and 4th ‘high-value targets’ accounted for by the PRO7 over the past week amid the intensified ‘war on drugs’ ordered by Gen. Acorda Jr. and Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ C. Abalos Jr. under the DILG’s BIDA or Buhay ay Iwasan, Droga ay Iwasan program.

On Friday last week, PRO7 operatives arrested Jonathan Mendo alias ‘Atan,’27,during a sting in Lower Kabanayan in Bgy. Bulacao in Talisay City, Cebu which resulted in the seizure of more than 1.5 kilos of shabu worth nearly P10.4 million.

On the same week, PRO7 agents arrested Jake Merson Mercado alias ‘Kano,’ a 33-year old jobless resident of Block 7, Bgy. Sawang Calero in Cebu City after he sold drugs to a poseur.

The suspect yielded 14 pieces of heat-sealed plastic packets containing 1,115 grams of shabu worth P7,582,000 during the buy-bust operation in Block 7, Bgy. Sawang Calero. The sting was conducted by undercover officers from the Cebu City DEU under Colonel Ireneo B. Dalogdog in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

All four suspects are now facing non-bailable charges for sale and possession of prohibited drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.