NBI asks: ‘Why only now?’
The top drug personality of Central Visayas is dead.
Police authorities said Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz was killed in an encounter with law enforcers from Cebu and Las Piñas City.
But was it really an encounter? This was the question asked by a top anti-narcotics officer from the National Bureau of Investigation and other Cebu officials who suspect that he was silenced to stop him from revealing his alleged protectors in government, especially as he had began seeking a line to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte for his surrender.
Diaz, 37, who started peddling illegal drugs in Cebu City in the early 2000s, was killed by policemen along with his bodyguard– Paul Vincent Igloria, 26 – in what the police said was a shootout in Barangay Almanza 1, Las Piñas City, past 10 p.m. on Friday.
Half a kilo of shabu was seized from Jaguar, who a week ago sent surrender feelers and claimed that he had become a changed man.
Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., director of the Central Visayas Police Regional Office (PRO-7) was apparently unhappy with comments, mostly coming from netizens, questioning the legitimacy of the operation against Diaz.
“To all those commenting why Jaguar wasn’t allowed to surrender: Is Cebu and Central Visayas better off with a dead Jaguar or Jaguar alive? Or better still a living Jaguar and dead police officers?” Comendador said in response to comments on Facebook, insinuating that Diaz was killed by policemen for fear that they might be implicated by the suspected drug lord.
Supt. Rex Derilo, head of the Regional Intelligence Division in Central Visayas (RSOG-7) who led the Cebu team, said Diaz was not their primary target because they went to the National Capital Region to look for Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro, the No. 1 drug personality in Cebu province, who has a pending arrest warrant for illegal drug charges.
Alvaro, however, managed to escape.
Derilo said they didn’t expect to see Alvaro with Diaz in Las Piñas City.
“We found out that Jaguar and Barok saw each other quite often although Jaguar moved from one place to another. He actually didn’t stay in one location longer than an hour,” said Derilo in an interview with radio station dySS.
Despite what police considered as a “successful” operation, questions surfaced regarding the motive of why Diaz was killed.
An official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), who used to lead the agency’s narcotics division in Cebu, said Diaz might have been killed by the police so he won’t squeal on his connections, including members of the Philippine National Police. (See sidebar story.)
Senior Supt. Jemar Modequillo, Las Piñas police chief, said Diaz had been reportedly living “for years” in Las Piñas, and bought properties in the city. Diaz, he said, employed Alvaro as his “right-hand man.”
Modequillo said intelligence operatives led by Derilo received information that Alvaro was in the Las Piñas area and would use a beige Toyota Fortuner, with plate number YKZ-202, every time he went out.
Derilo and his men, he said, coordinated with him on June 13 — interestingly a day after Diaz expressed his intent to surrender in an interview with two Cebu broadcasters.
On Friday night, Diaz and Alvaro were spotted inside a Toyota Fortuner driven by Igloria in Las Piñas.
While in transit, Derilo said they didn’t notice that Alvaro had disembarked from the vehicle.
“Nalipat mi (We didn’t see Barok get out of the vehicle),” he said.
Las Piñas City policemen led by Modequillo, flagged down the Toyota Fortuner at the corner of Narra and Gem Streets in Barangay Almanza 1 and approached Diaz.
Modequillo said the two men, the driver and Diaz, got off the vehicle. The driver, he said, started shooting with an armalite, while Diaz, who was also armed, fired his gun but the weapon malfunctioned.
He said the police returned fire at the two who were killed on the spot.
At least 500 grams of shabu were recovered from the suspects along with an M16 rifle with two magazines with live ammunition; a .45 caliber pistol with two magazines with live ammunition; P10,000 in cash; jewelry; cellphones; and identification cards bearing the same picture of Diaz, but with different names.
Modequillo said the Cebu police estimated the value of the illegal drugs to be P600,000 but other policemen pegged the amount at P1.2 million.
The body of Diaz and his bodyguard were brought to People’s Funeral Services in Las Piñas City.
NUMBER ONE
Diaz was considered the No. 1 drug personality in Central Visayas, said Chief Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., director of the Central Visayas Police Regional Office (PRO-7).
“We know how elusive he was and we’re very grateful our policemen got him,” he told CDN over the phone.
On June 12, Diaz presented himself in an interview with two broadcasters of radio station dyRF and expressed his desire to surrender to Duterte. He also apologized to his “victims,” saying he had stopped peddling illegal drugs since March 2015.
Comendador, however, instead challenged Diaz to surrender to the police and execute an extrajudicial confession to make formal his admissions instead of giving out statements when interviewed by media.
Comendador believed Diaz only wanted to portray himself as a changed man because he started to feel the pressure following the series of anti-illegal drug operations, including one on Banacon Island that killed suspected drug lord Rowen Secretaria and two others on May 28.
“I knew Jaguar was not sincere in his intent to surrender. He just wanted to mislead the police,” he said.
Comendador said they have been tracing Diaz’s whereabouts even before the latter was interviewed by the media.
Based on their investigation, Derilo said Diaz was still involved in illegal drug activities even if he made public his desire to surrender.
“Although he laid low in Central Visayas, he was still operating in Negros Island, Region 6 (Western Visayas), Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), and lately in the National Capital Region,” he said.
Derilo said Diaz was a “big-time drug personality” who dealt with international drug syndicates for his supply of illegal drugs.
As an alleged level one drug personality, Diaz could dispose of at least five kilograms of shabu every week valued at about P59 million.
Derilo said Diaz accumulated wealth that includes real properties in Las Piñas City and other parts of the country.
“He’s been a respected drug personality among his colleagues in the illegal drug trade. There’s no police unit in Central Visayas who didn’t hope to arrest Jaguar,” Derilo said.
Although he was a notorious drug personality, not a single criminal complaint was filed against Diaz in court.
He also had no existing arrest warrant based on the records of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas.
“He’s been operating for quite some time and yet he doesn’t have any case in court. That’s how influential he was,” Derilo said.
Derilo said Diaz had connections and protectors in the Philippine National Police and in other government offices—something which the regional police is looking into.