Senior Police Officer 2 Francis Villamor lies lifeless on the floor after he was shot inside a trial court in Danao City, northern Cebu past noon on Thursday, March 21, 2019. contributed photo | via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – He was once a member of the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).
He also received awards for being part of several successful anti-drug operations in different parts of Cebu province, including the police-led hunt for notorious drug lord Rowen “Yawa” Secretaria, before he was relieved and reassigned to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2016.
Who then wanted Senior Police Officer 2 Francis Villamor dead?
Clad in his police uniform, Villamor was shot dead at the lobby of the Danao City Regional Trial Court (RTC), which is housed inside the Danao City Hall Complex, past noon of Thursday, March 21, 2019.
Read more: Cop shot dead in Danao City trial court building
Quoting initial findings from investigators, a post on the official Facebook page of the Danao City Government said that witnesses saw that the gunman was wearing a facemask.
It added that the assailant shot the cop near his shoulder. But shortly before fleeing the scene on board a vehicle, the suspect reportedly went back to shoot Villamor again in the head.
Aside from Villamor, two other female individuals were wounded during the noontime shooting incident but they are now safe from harm.
In a phone interview, Chief Inspector Maribel Getigan, chief of the Danao City Police Station, said that Villamor, who currently resided in Barangay Looc in Danao City, came from a court hearing held at the Danao City RTC.
But Getigan said they have yet to determine if the slain policeman was attending a hearing intended for him, or if he was just escorting an inmate to the court.
Getigan affirmed that Villamor used to be assigned at CPPO’s PIB but was reassigned to ARMM in 2016. She added that investigators are now trying to find out the purpose of his visit in Cebu.
Villamor’s career as a policeman
Based on the records from CPPO, Villamor entered the service on November 15, 2001, and was immediately assigned at the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas (PRO-8).
His assignment in PRO-8 led him to declare Barangay Guintagbucan in Abuyog town, Leyte as one of his provincial addresses.
In 2012, he was transferred to CPPO’s PIB to serve as the unit’s intelligence operative.
But his stay in Cebu was short-lived.
In July 2016, he was among the 28 policemen from Central Visayas ordered relieved and reassigned to Mindanao by former Philippine National Police (PNP) director general Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa for still unknown reasons.
The order also affected operatives of the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (RAIDSOTF), the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG), the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
Read more: 28 relieved policemen off to war-torn areas
However, before Dela Rosa issued the order, he already announced during a speech of a looming revamp among policemen in Central Visayas after receiving reports that some of them were allegedly receiving money from personalities involved in illegal drugs.
Together with Villamor, three other noncommissioned police officers from the region were reassigned to ARMM. These are Police Officer 3 Frederick Ybañez, Police Officer 3 Mark Tago Aniñon, and Police Officer 2 Julius Codilla.
Awards
On the other hand, news reports ishowed that Villamor also happened to be a recipient of several awards during his stay in Cebu. He was mostly awarded for being part of successful anti-drug operations.
In 2014, the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO- 7), then headed by Chief Superintendent Tom Bañas, pinned medals on Villamor, Senior Inspector Leo Logronio and Police Officer 3 Jethro Puao for capturing a criminal group involved in the illegal drugs trade and several robberies in Metro Cebu during an operation conducted at Barangay Catarman in Liloan town.
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Two years later, Villamor, together with five other policemen, were awarded the Medalya ng Kagalingan (PNP Merit Medal) as part of the raiding team who killed Secretaria and two of his cohorts in Bohol in 2016.
The other policemen who received the Medalya ng Kagalingan were Senior Inspector Joey Bicoy, Senior Inspector Leo Logrono, Inspector Mikhail Mallorca, Senior Police Officer 1 Celso Paquibot Sr., and Police Officer 1 Rolex Borgonia.
Read more: CEBU DRUG LORD SLAIN IN BOHOL
Secretaria was killed on May 29, 2016 in his mansion located in Banacon Island off the town of Getafe in Bohol, which is located only six kilometers away from Mactan Island. /bmjo