Police reactivate TF Hagibis
TO COUNTER SUMMARY EXECUTIONS
LINGAYEN–Under pressure from Governor Amado Espino Jr. to stop the growing number of summary execution by armed suspects riding in tandem on motorcycles, Police Provincial Director Percival Barba has reactivated Task Force Hagibis, a special team of policemen trained to shoot moving targets while also on board motorcycles.
Barba had ordered all former members of Task Force Hagibis to assemble at the Police Provincial Office last week to regroup. Their mission: to flush out all criminal elements riding tandem on motorcycles.
Members of the task force, organized in 2006, are trained motorcycle riding cops in uniform who can shoot at moving targets along the highway with efficiency and accuracy using their hand guns and long arms.
Barba said he intends to recruit and train more members so that there can be one dedicated group of lawmen in motorcycle in each of the six districts of Pangasinan.
The Hagibis revival came after Espino ordered Barba to look into the recent spate of killings just after the election wherein three of the victims were barangay officials. Kapitan Joel Ogaban of Bongalon, Bugallon and Kapitan Edwin De Guzman of Tumbar,
Lingayen were both killed by armed men riding in tandem on motorcycles.
On the other hand, former Kapitan Efren de la Cruz of Barangay D in Tayug was killed by armed men who waited for him inside his bar in sitio San Mariano, Barangay Legaspi then escaped aboard a motorcycle.
Another gun-related crime involved a man who was shot in Mangatarem while his wife and daughter were hit by stray bullets.
Meanwhile, several bodies have also recently been found, two each in Sta. Barbara and Binmaley and one each in Calasiao and Bugallon.
Beside the bodies were small signs drawn on cardboard describing the victims as criminals whose examples should not be emulated.
Police, however, suspect that that the victims may have been the target of summary killings by people with known criminal records yet made the killings appear to have been perpetrated by vigilantes.
Barba admitted that some of the victims, indeed, had criminal records but said he doubts whether there is an organized vigilante group in the province as there has been no indication since he took over as provincial director in 2008.
Nonetheless, he said, “We will not tolerate any vigilante-like killing here.”
Barba placed Task Force Hagibis under the Special Operations Group headed by Superintendent Wilson Lopez.—LM
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