President Rodrigo Duterte has raised the reward for death, and not just the capture, of the killers of four policemen who were all shot in the head while hogtied in Ayungon town in Negros Oriental on July 18.
President Duterte, who earlier offered a P1-million bounty for the capture of the killers, added P300,000 more to the reward money.
“I prefer to see them dead. If they’re dead, I’m going to ad P300,000. So it’s P1.3 million, just bring me the head of that idiot leader there,” the President said.
The slain cops—Cpl. Relebert Beronio and patrolmen Raffy Callao, Ruel Cabellon, and Marquinto de Leon—were all intelligence personnel of the 704th Mobile Force Company of the Philippine National Police in Central Visayas.
The four cops were reportedly on their way to the detachment at Sitio Nabinca when armed men, who are suspected members of the New People’s Army attacked them.
The PNP has already filed charges against six NPA rebels tagged in the murder of the police officers, who each suffered a gunshot wound in the head.
Ayungon police chief Capt. Romel Luga identified the suspects as Victoriano Bangala Anadon Jr., Jonathan Baldivino, Rengie Anadon Baluhabo, Gelie Anadon Ebedo, Joseph Torres Ogates and Jelly Anadon Ebedo.
Except for Anadon Jr., the five other suspects remain at large, Luga said.
PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde welcomed Duterte's decision to raise the bountry.
"What is good here is it will entice the people to come out and speak because we know that there were many witnesses because our policemen were executed right in front of the barangay folks there,” he said.
“The report that reached us said the people from the barangay were gathered and the police officers were executed in front of them,” Albayalde added.