CIDG chief faces new test
I’M referring to my friend, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Brigadier General Nick Torre whose courage and credibility is expected to be tested anew as he leads the investigation of drug war deaths and the murder of public officials during the former Rodrigo Duterte administration
Indeed, the member of PNP Academy ‘Tagapaglunsad’ Class of 1993’s mettle will be put on spotlight as he tries to find justice for the likes of slain PCSO board secretary Wesley Barayuga and Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili for a start.
Making the tough call will be another acid test on Brig. Gen. Torre’s courage grounded in competence and integrity and the moral high ground as he goes after the once “high and mighty” and prove to all and sundry that he really has the ability to do the job and the credibility to back him up.
The erstwhile Police Regional Office 11 director in Southern Mindanao has proven it after all when he led a massive police effort to capture fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused in a trafficking and child abuse case inside the sprawling Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound in Davao City.
He was brave enough to take all those criticisms and below-the-belt attacks from Quiboloy’s supporters and he, with the full support of PNP chief General Rommel Marbil was really unstoppable in forcing the self-anointed “Son of God” to emerge from his hiding place and be placed under arrest.
Barely a month into his new job, Brig. Gen. Torre has now joined hands with NBI Director Jimmy Santiago in gathering more witnesses and evidence that will strengthen their case against the personalities behind the July 30, 2020 killing of retired police general-turned Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board secretary Wesley Barayuga outside the PCSO office in Mandaluyong City.
What the two law enforcement agencies’ need to do is to ensure the security of Quadcom whistleblowers Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza and ex-cop Nelson Mariano who have tagged former PCSO general manager Royina Garma and now resigned National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo as the officials who allegedly mastermind the assassination of Barayuga, a lawyer from Philippine Military Academy Class 1983.
Apart from the Barayuga case, the PNP-CIDG chief has also been tasked by Gen. Marbil to reinvestigate the case of over 25 elected public officials including mayors who.were killed after they were linked to illegal drug activities during the former Duterte administration, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said.
Initially, the PNP-CIDG will be prioritizing the unsolved case of Mayor Halili who was felled by a sniper’s bullet while attending a flag-raising ceremony at the city hall compound on July 2, 2018. Some interesting facts mentioned by Garma regarding the Halili case will be probed by the PNP-CIDG.
A record check showed that at least 28 elected public officials were shot dead in supposed police operations or mysteriously killed during the Duterte presidency, many of them linked to illegal drugs before or after they were killed.
It would be interesting to note that in early 2016, then President Duterte read out a list of some 160 public officials he claimed to be involved in the narcotics trade. These officials were later branded as “narco-politicians.” Many of them were later gunned down in alleged encounters with the police or were assassinated by unidentified hitmen including “snipers.”
One of them was Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino who, along with his three companions, were killed in a reported shootout on March 8, 2021. Aquino’s killing was surrounded by conflicting reports although what is clear is that two policemen said to be involved in the attack were also killed during the incident;
The others include the following: Pamplona, Cagayan Vice Mayor Aaron Sampaga who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the province on August 5, 2016; Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom who was killed in a reported gunbattle with policemen manning a checkpoint in Makilala, North Cotabato On October 28, 2016. Nine other armed companions of Dimaukom who was included in the “narco-list” were also killed in that incident;
Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa , another official included in the “narco-list” was shot dead inside his cell at the Baybay City Jail on November 5, 2016, a month after he was arrested for illegal drug possession; Marcos, Ilocos Norte Mayor Arsenio Agustin was shot and killed by an unknown assassin on June 3, 2017;
Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, also in the “narco-list” and 15 others including his wife, brother and nephew were shot dead in a series of police raid on July 30, 2017;
Ronda, Cebu Vice-Mayor Jonah John Ungab was shot dead by two unidentified assassins in Cebu City on February 19, 2018 while he was driving his car. Ungab, a lawyer representing then confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa was killed right after leaving the courtroom; Ronda, Cebu Mayor Mariano Blanco II was gunned down inside his office on September 5, 2018;
Los Baños, Laguna Mayor Caesar Perez who was gunned down by unidentified hitmen inside the municipal hall compound on December 3, 2020. The victim whose name was also included in the “narco-list” had just returned from a spa in a nearby area when he was killed; Libunga, Cotabato Mayor Christopher Cuan who was assassinated by a group of armed men inside a cockpit arena on January 11, 2021. Also in the “narco-list,” the mayor and his driver were attacked without any provocation by at least four men armed with high-powered firearms.
