CCPO to employ new strategy to address killings in Cebu City

Despite series of shootings, CCPO official assures Cebu City remains safe

CCPO deputy operations director, Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla. CDN Digital Photo | Pegeen Maisie M. Sararaña (file photo)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office will employ a new strategy to lessen if not eliminate the shooting incidents in the city.

This after the CCPO recorded 10 people gunned down in Cebu City in this month alone.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, CCPO deputy director for operations, said that he would not, however, go into the details of the new CCPO strategy.

Parilla also assured Cebuanos that despite the shooting incidents, Cebu City had remained safe.

He also said that these series of killings were all drug-related with the suspected assailants being members of a drug group, and the victims possibly members or affiliated with the group.

He said that with the intensified operations against illegal drugs, the group might have thought that some of their members might have turned into police assets.

 He said this was probably the reason why there were killed.

Parilla cited as example the shooting incident where Flora Mae Yuson, a 32-year-old woman, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Sitio Huyong-Huyong, Barangay Mambaling Cebu City on July 16.

READ: Boss of drug group may have targeted woman killed in Mambaling – cop chief

Parilla said that they received information that supposedly, the husband of Yuson, might have been the target of the perpetrators instead of Yuson. 

But since Yuson’s husband had been in hiding already, he said that the assailants might have shifted their focus on Yuson, who was allegedly also involved in illegal drug activities as well.

“According sa Investigation, ang bana maoy gipangita gyud sa ilang grupo, sa ilang organization sa mga drug personalities. But ang iyang bana is ningikyas na, wala na sa area. Ang bana is former barangay tanod, involved sa drugs. Ang asawa na (ang) involve,” Parilla said.

(According to our investigation, the group has been looking for the husband, who was allegedly involved in organization of drug personalities, but her husband has already escape. He was no longer in the area. The husband was a former barangay tanod, who was allegedly involved in drugs. The wife (Yuson) this time was also allegedly involved in the drug group.)

He said that Yuson’s husband had reportedly owed money from the drug group, which might be one of the reasons why he was targeted.

Parilla also said that most of the investigation of these shooting incidents were moving and that they already had persons of interest in these killings.

He reiterated again that he could not divulge details of the strategy only that it would involve entire police force, including the administrative officers, who would help assess and monitor the effectiveness of this strategy.

READ: Police adjusting crime responses to address shooting in Cebu

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