Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Alleged leader of partisan armed group killed in shoot out with police

(This news report appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

CALBAYOG CITY- An alleged leader of a partisan armed group operating in Calbayog City was killed in a shoot out Sunday morning as 20 of his members were also apprehended.
Killed was Michael Tirga who died on the spot due to a bullet wound he sustained at his left breast, Superintendent Ramil Ramirez, police chief of Calbayog, said.

Tirga has a standing warrant of arrest for murder issued by Judge Manuel Torrevillas, Jr, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 32 issued on January 30, 2009, Ramirez said.

“But based on the intelligence reports that we have gathered, he was the leader of a partisan armed group identified with a local politician,” Ramirez said.

He declined to identify any local politician who is supporting the group of Tirga.

The presence of Tirga in the area, some 12 kms away from the city proper of Calbayog, was through the information of their intelligence assets, the city police chief said.

During the serving of the warrant, Tirga managed to engage the members of the RMG in a shoot out that also resulted to the injury of one PO1 Ablinga, Ramirez said. The police officer was wounded on his left arms and was rushed to the Our Lady of Porciuncula Hospital, Inc. in Calbayog City.

On the same day, the members of the RMG also conducted simultaneous operations against identified members of the group of Tirga in the villages of Sinantan, Navarro, Patong, Hibatang and Rawis, some of Calbayog’s remotest villages.

The operations in those barangays resulted to the arrest of 20 men, two of them were of minor ages.

Some of these arrested men have standing warrants of arrest for murder and illegal logging, Ramirez said.

All are now detained at the city police jail while the two minors were brought to the city social welfare office.

Ramirez said that the arrests of those men also netted for the discovery and confiscation of assorted firearms at their respective houses.

But one of those arrested, Jesus Jalayajay, denied that he was a member of the any partisan armed group.

“I am just an ordinary farmer. That is why, I was surprised that they arrested us,” the 37- year- old Jalayahay said.

Meantime, both Samar Rep. Reynaldo Uy and Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento commended successful operations of the police authorities, saying this will help achieve the goal of the Commission on Elections of peaceful and orderly elections.

“I am commending the operations of the RMG which resulted to the neutralization of this armed group. This will really help us in having peaceful and orderly elections,” Uy said.

“I grew up with a family of priests. (And) we have been fighting for peace ( in our area), he said. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

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