A RANKING police officer and four unidentified members of a kidnap-for-ransom group were killed in a shootout between authorities and the suspects in a rescue operation that resulted in the successful rescue of a kidnap victim.
Another police officer who was also wounded was rushed at the Chinese General Hospital hours after the incident. He was in stable condition.
Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, spokesman of the Philippine National Police, identified the slain police official as Supt. Arthur Masungsong, head of the Anti-Kidnapping Group unit for Luzon.
The wounded police officer was Chief Insp. Reynaldo Lumactod, who sustained bullets wounds in the different parts of his body from high-caliber firearms.
The bloody event was triggered after AKG operatives responded to an emergency police assistance sought by Roniel Bungay relating to the kidnapping of her sister Raziel Esguerra last Friday at her house in Biñan City, Laguna.
Esguerra was inside her house in Biñan City, Laguna when the suspects, armed with high-powered firearms, barged-in and forcibly took her at gunpoint and led her to a waiting Mitsubishi vehicle.
The suspects had demanded P15 million for Esguerra’s immediate release but subsequent negotiations reduced the demand to P1 million.
In a spot report following the incident, Carlos said elements of the AKG led by Masungsong were on their way for an entrapment operations with the suspects at a Shell gasoline station in Balagtas, Bulacan at around 1 a.m.
However, the suspects instead changed the meeting place to Barangay Sta. Lucia for still unknown reasons.
While traversing the main road leading to Barangay Sta. Lucia, the AKG operatives chanced upon the suspects’ vehicle, a white Mitsubishi Adventure with license plate SHP 289, the same vehicle used in the kidnapping of Esguerra.
The suspects apparently noticed that they were being tailed by AKG operatives. Minutes later, the suspects fired at the police operatives, prompting the authorities to retaliate which triggered the exchange of gunfire.
Four of the suspects were killed on the spot while Masungsong and Lumactod were wounded.
Masungsong, however, died due to fatal wounds he sustained from the volley of gunfire.
One of the slain kidnappers was identified as a certain Alebanza, brother of Rolando Alebanza who was also in the group but managed to escaped at the height of the shootout.
PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa, upon knowing of the incident, rushed to the scene and later went to the Chinese General Hospital to check on the condition of Lumactod who was being attended to at the medical facility.
Dela Rosa said AKG operatives are tracking down Rolando Alebanza dead or alive.
“We will not stop until we get you [referring to Rolando Alebanza]. I promise you Mr. Alebanza, we will get you at all cost dead or alive,” Dela Rosa vowed.