A group of armed men allegedly kicked and pointed guns at a group of individuals in Barangay Tapon, Dumanjug, Cebu on Sunday, October 29, 2023. | Screenshot from video courtesy of Tapon Unya | via Emmariel Ares and Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police here have identified two out of the four alleged suspects who kicked and pointed firearms at victims in Purok 6, Barangay Tapon, Dumanjug town in southwestern Cebu on Sunday evening, October 29, 2023.
A video that has gone viral on social media shows the moment when some armed men allegedly approached a group of individuals and harassed them on Sunday.
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Reported at early morning Monday
Police Major Nolan Tagsip, spokesperson of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), told reporters that the incident was reported to the police at around 1:30 a.m. on Monday, October 30.
After personnel of the Dumanjug Police Station received the call, responding officers immediately went to the area to verify the report.
Tagsip said that when personnel arrived at the scene, the commotion already ended but they were able to interview the victims.
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Four people harassed
According to Tagsip, there were a total of four victims who told police that they were harassed by a group of armed men including an incumbent barangay captain.
“Based on our investigation, ila gi alleged nga isa ka incumbent barangay chairman, gi-sipa ug gitiunonan sila og baril. And we can see the video naman, naay baril nakita didto,” he said.
(Based on our investigation, they alleged that one of them was an incumbent barangay chairman, he kicked and pointed a gun at them. And we can see that on the vieo, there is a gun there.)
He added that based on the video, the men could be seen carrying firearms including a .38 caliber revolver and a .45 caliber pistol.
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Victims determined to file cases
The victims were cooperative and were determined to file cases against the alleged suspects, said Tagsip.
He also said that they have identified two out of the four alleged suspects including the barangay captain who is running for barangay councilor.
The police also conducted a hot-pursuit operation, but the alleged suspects had already fled from the area where the incident happened.
Tagsip said that they also interviewed the barangay captain who was accused of being one of the alleged suspects, but he denied being involved.
According to Tagsip, they will also be investigating on whether the incident was election-related and orchestrated by political rivals.
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Isolated incident
He said that they woould be conducting further investigation to determine what caused the incident to turn violent.
The hot-pursuit operation against the alleged suspects is also ongoing, according to Tagsip.
The alleged suspects, who are still at large, will be facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and violation of the election gun ban.
Meanwhile, Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson of the director of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7), said that the incident was isolated and that their general assessment showed that the election had been safe and secured so far.