THE DAVAO Police Regional Office provided financial assistance two the two Special Action Force (SAF) members who were injured following an encounter with the five armed men at 10:45 p.m. in Barangay Litos, Sulop, Davao del Sur on May 6.
PRO 11 director Benjamin Silo Jr. identified the injured officers as CMSgt. Mervin C. Alapan and Patrolman Leonardo S Lawayan, who are now undergoing medical treatment in one of the hospitals in Davao del Sur.
Also present during the said visit were the personnel of PRO 11 Regional Medical and Dental Unit (RMDU) and Public Safety Mutual Benefit Fund Inc (PSMBFI) who also handed over some financial aid to the SAF troopers.
According to the report, an armed encounter between 111 Special Action Command (SAC), 11 Special Action Battalion (SAB), PNP-SAF, and more or less five armed men transpired at the gymnasium.
He said their deployment is part of PRO XI’s effort to ensure safe, accurate, free, and fair 2022 national and local elections.
The firefight lasted for 20 to 30 minutes which resulted in the death of Renil L. Pagalan, one of the armed men. Meanwhile, Alapan and Lawayan were wounded in the clash.
Recovered after the said firefight included a safety lever of the hand grenade, fragments of the hand grenade recovered from the site of explosion; two liters of Tanduay bottles with gasoline (Molotov improvised bomb); and other fired cartridges of used firearms.
Also, recovered from the possession of Pagalan was the .45 caliber pistol inserted with a magazine and loaded with bullets along with his four different identification cards with different addresses and a cellular phone.
A hot pursuit operation is still ongoing for the remaining armed men.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office XI strongly condemns any effort of lawless groups to disrupt the elections.
“The people behind the harassment of police and other vulnerable sectors are warned to stop their dirty tactics. We will not spare anyone and expose their true nature, especially if their participation in any of these criminal acts is proven,” the statement said.
