THREE suspects were killed and a police officer wounded after a 20-minute shootout in a Bukidnon village yesterday at 6:30 pm.
Police Col. Jun Mark Lagare, the province’s police director, identified the fatalities as Joseph Pateres, alias ‘Dodong Gonzaga Tatao,’ 39, single, unemployed, his live-in partner Marissa Libringka, and a certain Jun Plaza, all residing at Purok 22, Barangay Butong, Quezon of the same province.
A police report revealed the incident started when a group of warrant servers led by Police Maj. Noel Cano of the Quezon Municipal Police Station, together with personnel from Bukidnon Police headquarters were in the area to arrest Pateres by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Carmel Grado of the Regional Trial Court-11, Branch 4, Panabo City.
Pateres, who was the subject of the said warrant for attempted murder, together with his two companions suddenly fired their guns at the policemen several times.
As the result of the series of volleys from the suspects, a police officer was hit on the left shoulder.
Police rushed the three to the nearest hospital only to be declared dead by an attending physician.
While the wounded policeman is now confined at Malaybalay Polymedic Hospital and is now already in stable condition.
After the shooting policemen recovered from Pateres’ possession a caliber .45 pistol, a hand grenade, and a sachet containing a white crystalline substance of suspected shabu with an estimated street value of P6,800.
While a .38 caliber revolver was confiscated from Libringka, another of the same caliber was found from Plaza.
Police said Pateres and company were the suspects in a series of shooting incidents in their municipality.
Lagare expressed his compliment to the responding personnel in the relentless efforts of implementing intensified operations against all forms of criminality.
He also stated that cooperation and support of the community is the key to making Bukidnon a safe place to live and do business.
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