I’M saying this in the wake of a number of incidents in which our undercover policemen who blew their cover have either been killed or maimed after being shot by ruthless and defiant criminals in many parts of the country.

Majority, if not all of the victims have turned out to be having no body protection at all while dealing with their targets, in many cases drug traffickers who will fire at will in the event they find out they are dealing with police operatives.

Last Monday, a brave Cebu policeman, Staff Sergeant Careby-Clyde Alinsug became the latest cop to be killed in the line of duty. My friend, Police Regional Office 7 director, Brigadier General Roque Vega said that Alinsug was shot to death by a notorious drug dealer in Consolacion, Cebu on Sunday evening.

Hours after he was killed, the brave Alinsug got the justice he richly deserve after his killer identified as Reynaldo Ydil was gunned down in a shootout with pursuing PRO7 operatives. Two other cohorts of Ydil were also arrested and are now facing criminal charges.

Brig. Gen. Vega said his men tracked down the suspects in their hiding place in Sitio Tarcom in Upper Lagwete, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City 7 a.m. Monday. Recovered from the possession of the suspects were one caliber .45 semi-automatic pistol and one cal. .38 revolver with several live ammunition.

PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant Gen. Vic Danao has recognized the bravery and genuine commitment to service of Alinsug who was shot in Barangay Casili in Consolacion, Cebu amid the PRO7’s all-out campaign against drug traffickers in Central Visayas.

The victim was among the undercover Consolacion policemen who conducted an anti-illegal drug operation against the three suspects led by Ydil. However, Ydil apparently noticed the presence of the lawmen and immediately pulled out a concealed firearm and fired repeatedly at Alinsug who died while being taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

As if have said in a previous column, our undercover officers and members of raiding teams must be provided with adequate body protection specifically top-level bullet-proof vests and head gears since there is always the possibility that defiant drug dealers will fire at them once cornered. This has been proven time and time again amid the government’s successful war on drugs since July 2016.

Let me again tell you the case of a PNP Drug Enforcement Group agent who nearly died in an anti-narcotics operation in Zamboanga City last February 25. It turned out that the suspect who yielded four kilos of shabu worth P27.2 million fired shots at the DEG team about to arrest him. One of the agents got hit by a bullet at the back of his head although luckily, the bullet merely sliced off part of his skin. The suspect was eventually shot dead by officers.

There is also the case of another PNP-DEG operative under Brig. Gen. Randy Peralta who was gunned down while conducting an official surveillance mission in Mandaluyong City last April 28. The poor brave officer was shot by two motorcycle-riding suspects, one of them eventually killed in a hot pursuit operation.

This is the reason why I am calling on the incoming Bongbong Marcos administration to further support the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as they continue to wage a war on drugs. There is really a big need for the President-elect and both Houses of Congress to ensure that the PDEA and the PNP-DEG in particular will get the much-needed ‘move, shoot, communicate and investigate’ capabilities to counter moneyed drug traffickers specifically jailed drug lords and their cohorts in the outside world, foreign countries included

Apart from providing our anti-narcotics agents with more fast cars and SUVs they need to trail ‘high-value targets’ once they go to posh hotels and casinos or enter SLEX, NLEX, SCTEX and other major highways, the incoming government should also provide our anti-narcotics agencies with adequate funds to buy information from syndicate ‘insiders.’

On Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Danao unveiled to the public over P765 million worth of newly-procured ‘move and shoot’ equipment by the police force which is continuing to modernize under the Duterte administration.

The top cop said that the brand-new motor vehicles and guns will further beef-up their capability to fight criminality, insurgency and terrorism in the country as the PNP prepares to ensure the smooth transition of the presidency from President Rodrigo Duterte to President-elect Bongbong Marcos Jr. this coming June 30.

Another friend, PNP Director for Logistics, Major Gen. Ronnie . Olay, also the chairman of the PNP National Headquarters Bids and Awards committee, said that the new equipment were procured under the PNP’s Capability Enhancement Programs 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. They also got help from the Congress-introduced Initiative Appropriation Fiscal Year 2021 and Trust Receipt 2018 to buy the equipment with a total contract price ofP765,115,073.40.

Lt. Gen. Danao said that the NHQ and Logistics Support Service Bids and Award Committee and the Philippine International Trading Inc. successfully procured the equipment following a strict and very transparent bidding process wherein the bids of all proponents were subjected to a thorough examination.

The PNP-DL headed by Maj. Gen. Olay and the PNP-LSS led by Brigadier Gen. Lorenzo B. Detran Jr. are the principal PNP offices involved in the program to procure more ‘move, shoot, communicate and investigate’ equipment for the police force following strict government bidding processes.

Maj. Gen. Olay said that the equipment include 16 units of brand-new marked vans to be used by PNP national support units; the vans procured from MGM Motor Trading Inc.; three units of Light Transport Vehicles to be used by the PNP Training Institute and the PNP Academy;

###

8,358 units of Turkish-made caliber 9mm Striker Fired Pistols to be used by PNP Academy graduates and new PNP recruits, the weapons procured from JV of Nashe Enterprise and Girsan Makina Turkey;

8,500 units of cal. 5.56mm Basic Assault Galil Rifles procured under a Philippine-Israel government-to-government procurement made thru representations from R. Espinelli and Israel Weapons Industries Ltd.; and 620 units of Autogated Night Vision Device from MKU Limited, the equipment to be used by the different PNP Mobile Forces;

34 units of Israeli-made cal. 7.62mm Light Machine Guns procured under a G2G Procurement thru a joint venture of the R. Espinelli and Israel Weapons Industries Ltd., the weapons to be used by members of the PNP Maritime Group;

45 Explosive Detector Dogs procured thru the Zemog K9 Training Center Group, Inc., the dogs to be used by the PNP Explosives and Ordnance Disposal/K-9 Group; and 5,298 units of All-Purpose Undershirt Vests procured thru the joint venture of Aholdtech Corporation and Jiansu Zhongyi Special Fiber Co. Ltd.

It’s good to hear that our police force will now have 5,298 officers who will be wearing top-of-the-line undershirt vests they need in doing undercover work. This is necessary because undercover cops obviously cannot wear the ordinary bulky bullet-proof vests under their shirts once doing anti-narcotics missions.

I can’t imagine an undercover cop wearing such kind of bullet-proof vest while dealing with a drug trafficker. He for sure would look like a fool, the laughing stock of the underworld and the police force as he will readily blow his cover.