CEBU CITY, Philippines — A man, whom police described as allegedly a hitman and the No. 1 Most Wanted Person in Central Visayas, was killed during a shootout with policemen inside a game farm allegedly owned by suspended Negros Oriental Congressman Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, the spokesperson of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), identified the alleged hitman as Alex Mayagma, a resident of Barangay Minaba, Bayawan City.
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Most Wanted Person in CV
Initial investigation showed that Mayagma was killed when he resisted arrest and shot it out with policemen, who were trying to subdue him at 10:55 a.m. inside a game farm in Barangay Malabugas, Bayawan City.
Pelare said that they were also trying to verify allegations that the game farm was allegedly owned by the suspended Representative Teves Jr.
Aside from that, the PRO-7 spokesperson also confirmed that Mayagma was allegedly a notorious hitman and the most wanted person in the region, who had pending warrant of arrest for four murder cases and two warrants of arrest for illegal possession of firearms, and for violation of the the Commission on Elections gun ban.
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Operation vs most wanted person
On July 31, Monday, the PRO-7 tracker team composed of various units cornered Mayagma after a month-long surveillance, casing, and intelligence works.
When police approached Mayagma, he responded by allegedly pointing a weapon at them which resulted in a scuffle with the policemen.
After the police disarmed him, Mayagma allegedly took a second gun inside his sling bag and shot at the policemen.
Pelare said that the police officers then had no choice but to fire back to defend themselves, and Mayagma was wounded in the process.
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Mayagma was brought to the nearest hospital, but he was declared dead upon arrival by the attending physician.
Cops checking who owns game farm
The PRO-7 spokesman also said that they continued to verify the allegations that the game farm was allegedly owned by Teves Jr.
“We are still verifying if this information is true. But the next query is, ngano naa siya didto (why was he there)?,” he said.
He said that they were conducting an in-depth investigation on why Mayagma, the most wanted person in Central Visayas, was in the area, and his possible connection to the suspended congressman.
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Links to Governor Degamo killing
Pelare said that they were also investigating if the alleged ‘hitman’ and most wanted person in Central Visayas had a possible involvement to the killing of Governor Roel Degamo and eight others in Pamplona town on March 4, 2023.
Along with Teves, Mayagma has earlier been charged with murder over the 2019 assassination of former Board Member Miguel Dungog, who was an ally of the late Governor Roel Degamo, and three others.
Pelare said that the PRO-7 focused on the case of Mayagma because of his alleged involvement in killings in the province going back around five years.
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“Gitutokan pag-ayo sa atong regional director ang pagdakop aning (Our regional director has focused on arresting) Alex Mayagma because according to intelligence monitoring, he has been involved in previous killings in Negros Oriental,” he said.
‘We’ll be watching you’
Pelare also said that this operation would serve as a reminder to other criminals in the province that the PRO-7 was watching them.
“This will send a strong signal sa mga katong mga nagpabilin pang nagplano nga maghimo og dautan sa Negros nga ang PRO-7 will always be watching you,” he said.
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(This will send a strong signal to those who remain to plan to do bad things in Negros that the PRO-7 will always be watching you.)
“This is an assurance sa mga tawo sa Negros Oriental nga ang gobyerno naglihok para mabalik ang peace and security situation sa Negros Oriental,” he said.
(This is an assurance to the people of Negros Oriental that the government is working to return the peace and order situation in Negros Oriental.)
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Seek justice for victims
In line with this, Pelare also ensured that the PRO-7 would continue its efforts to bring justice to the victims.
“I would promise to the people of Negros Oriental nga maghimo mi og mga impactful ug dinagko nga operation para matagaag hustisya katong mga krimeng nahitabo,” he said.
(I would promise to the people of Negros Oriental that we will make many impactful and big operations to give justice to those crimes that had happened.) | with Mary Godinez, CTU Intern
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