PATAY
A CHAMPION marksman who wants to “crush” people involved in the illegal drugs trade and whose family name literally means “killings” and “dead” in English, will take over the reins of the Cebu-based Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) today.
Supt. Lito Patay, a native of Siquijor, will replace Senior Supt. Royina Garma, who was named chief of the Cebu City Police Office last month.
Patay and Garma were classmates at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) where they both graduated in 1997.
“I worked with him in Region 11 (Davao) but not with the same unit,” Garma said.
While the new CIDG-7 chief’s surname may not be that pleasant to the ears, Chief Insp. Hector Amancia, officer in charge of CIDG-7, said it remains to be seen how Patay will perform in Cebu.
“Let us be objective and not judge him based on his family name alone. Let us allow our new chief to do his thing,” Amancia told Cebu Daily News.
Patay once led a paramilitary police unit in Davao City before he was chosen by then PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa to run Station 6 or the Batasan Station in Quezon City shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the country’s highest position in July 2016.
Under his command, the police station became the deadliest among all 12 police stations in Quezon City after at least 108 people were killed in anti-drug operations in the place from July 2016 to June 2017, a Reuters report stated.
The officers who formed the core of the unit behind the anti-drug operations were 10 men who called themselves the “Davao Boys.”
Their boss, Patay, loves action but clarified that he wouldn’t want anybody to die unless the person puts the lives of operatives in danger.
“I don’t feel bad because we are just defending ourselves. We always follow the rule of law,” he said in a Reuters interview.
Patay was reportedly shot in the arm while fighting Communist rebels in 2008.
But rebels were not his only enemies. He made it clear that he abhors anyone involved in illegal drugs.
“We are very angry about people involved in drugs. We want to crush them. That’s our indoctrination,” said Patay in the same Reuters interview.
In September 2017, Patay was promoted and transferred to the CIDG in Central Luzon.
Now, he is bringing his skills to Cebu.