Suspected drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro (seated right, wearing ball cap and face cover) is being processed at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center after his surrender to NBI-Bohol operatives. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
A P200,000 cash reward was given by Danao City Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano III to operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Bohol to whom suspected drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro surrendered last June 21.
Lawyer Rennan Augustus Oliva, chief of the NBI-Bohol, personally received the money from the mayor yesterday.
Oliva was accompanied by NBI 7 Director Jose Justo Yap, Assistant Director Ernesto Macabare, and Special Investigators Arnel Pura and Danilo Cabanlet.
Oliva, in a phone interview, said they will use the money given by the Danao City government to improve their satellite office in Bohol.
“There are many things I want to improve in Bohol. First, I intend to build a jail for our detainees there. And second, I want to put a roof where people secure their NBI clearance,” he told Cebu Daily News over the phone.
“These are projects I want to implement as my legacy to Bohol. I’m sure future NBI officers who will be assigned in Bohol can use these facilities,” he added.
Director Yap said the Danao City government appreciated the efforts of the NBI in facilitating the surrender of Barok as well as in securing him.
Yap said they will continue doing their job whether or not local government units will extend a reward.
“We have a mandate to fulfill. Rewards are actually not needed, although it somehow encourages us to perform our duties efficiently,” he said.
In a Facebook post, the Danao City government explained that the City Council came up with a resolution to commend the NBI-Bohol operatives and to grant them P200,000 cash as reward.
The resolution was sponsored by Councilor Jojo Roble, chairman of the Peace and Order Committee.
Alvaro, a native of Danao City, was considered by officials a “menace” in the locality.
The number 1 one drug personality in Cebu province surrendered to the NBI in Bohol last June 21 for fear that he might get killed by policemen.
His friend, suspected drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, was shot dead by operatives of the Regional Intelligence Division in what police said was a shootout in Las Piñas City last June 17.
Alvaro has been detained at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in Cebu City since last Friday.
He is in solitary confinement under constant monitoring of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera.
Barok’s cop visitor
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) is looking into the identity of the police officer who visited Alvaro last Saturday.
But Supt. Henry Biñas, head of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Branch, said there’s nothing wrong if a policeman would visit Alvaro at the CPDRC as long as it’s an official visit.
“If it was a legitimate visit, I don’t see any problem with it. In the first place, there’s no rule that prohibits policemen from visiting a prisoner although it could create doubts,” he told reporters yesterday.
Romeo Manansala, jail warden of the provincial jail, on Monday revealed that Alvaro’s cousin, a police officer, tried to visit the inmate last Saturday afternoon.
Alvaro, he said, identified the visitor as his cousin but jail officers were not able to get the policeman’s name.
The policeman wasn’t able to talk with Alvaro because the latter has been prohibited from receiving visitors for a month, except his lawyer.
Marco Toral, the consultant on jail matters of the Cebu provincial government, considered Alvaro a “high risk” inmate due to the nature of his case.
Toral, in an earlier interview, said no one is allowed to visit Alvaro for 30 days, except his lawyer John Ungab.
Alvaro’s immediate family — his parents, wife, and children — can visit him after a month but must present their identification cards at the entrance gate.