A police officer was killed and another cop was wounded after a firefight broke out between them and a criminal syndicate led by an ex-Army man at the outskirts of Libon town in Albay early morning Tuesday.
Reports reaching Camp Crame identified the police officer as Senior Inspector Joerem Kallos, deputy chief of Police of Libon Municipal Police Station. The identity of the wounded cop was not immediately available.
Initial investigation said that Kallos together with policemen from the Albay provincial police office led by Chief Inspector Rodel Pescuela were on a manhunt operations against Gilbert Concepcion, former Army personnel at Sitio Pinagbadilan, Barangay Buga, Libon when the incident took place.
Concepcion is one of the Most Wanted Persons in the Bicol region for his involvement in numerous cases of high-profile crimes like murder and robbery.
The joint police operations group was at a checkpoint at Pinagbadilan to serve the warrant of arrest against Concepcion when they were fired upon by the suspects.
The group of policemen retaliated at the suspects sparking a 15- minute firefight where in Kallos was hit and was immediately rushed to the Ligao City Hospital but died upon arrival.
The intense fighting also hit the police patrol car. Police reinforcement arrived at the scene of fighting to engage the armed suspects but they had fled towards an unknown direction.
A pursuit operations has been launched against the armed men and to locate the whereabouts of Concepcion.
