Argao shootout: Police chief heeds warning, escapes sniper’s bullets

Around 10 members of a crime group suddenly fired shots at the vehicle of policemen who were on their way to serve a warrant of arrest against a suspected hitman in Brgy. Jampang, Argao, Cebu on Friday, September 13. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Heeding the warning of an ambush with him as the target, probably saved the life of the Argao police chief.

Police Major Janus Giangan, Argao Police Station chief, was not where he was supposed to be when a sniper fired three times at the passenger side of the SUV that the police chief was supposed to be riding on.

The shots fired by a sniper started the more than an hour-long shootout between the nearly 10 policemen and 10 armed men in Barangay Jampang, Argao town at 5:45 a.m. today, Friday, September 13.

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Serve warrant of arrest

Giangan and his team of policemen were there to serve a warrant of arrest for selling illegal drugs against Joeraldine Gevana “alias” Jiraldin.

Gevana is a man suspected to be a hitman and a member of a crime group involved in illegal drug trade and robberies. 

Before they were ambushed by the 10 armed men, the policemen checked a previously discovered tunnel near the area. When they saw that it has been closed up, they then proceeded to arrest Gevana at his residence.

But as they neared the area where Gevana’s residence was located, Major Giangan heeded an earlier warning of an ambush and decided to get off the SUV he was riding on.

Two men stayed inside but not on the passenger side, while the remaining members of the police team decided to walk heading to the house of Gevana.

The SUV continued on slowly while policemen walked near the vehicle.

READ MORE: 2 cops, 1 civilian killed in Tagaytay City shootout

Sniper opened fire

As they neared the house of Gevana, the sniper opened fire, followed by the other members of the armed group.

One policeman was hit in his chest but survived as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Patrolman Joseph Berma was thrown to the ground due to the impact of the bullet hitting his vest.

He suffered a dislocated shoulder because of this and some cuts on his face when he landed face first on the ground.

Target of operation killed

Giangan said that during the shootout, they managed to pinpoint Gevana, the subject of their operation, and pursued him as he ran towards the tunnel entrance.

There policemen shot and killed Gevana, who was also firing at the policemen with his pistol.

Giangan said that they called for rescue and reinforcements from the Regional Police Mobile Force and the Provincial Police Mobile Force as the shootout continued between the lawmen and the group of gunmen.

But after an hour, with their ammunition running low, Giangan decided to withdraw. And as they withdrew from the area, the gunmen relentlessly fired at them.

Both Gevana and Berma were rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment. 

Gevana, however, was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. 

Meanwhile, Berma is being treated as of this writing.

Giangan said that they would be conducting operations to hunt down and apprehend the rest of the members of the crime group, who also had warrants of arrest againt them.

5 crime groups in Argao

He also said that there were five crime groups that were actively terrorizing residents in Argao, as of this writing.

None of these groups have been neutralized but police have arrested or killed some of their members during operations.

With the numerous death threats he had been receiving, Giangan said that they were always on alert to protect themselves in case of possible attacks. 

In spite of this, the police chief said that they would continue to do their job as law enforcers with the help of citizens who would bravely share information to police. 

“Syempre ako, nag-amping pud ko kay wa ta kahibalo ba og asa ta nila atangan. Dili ta magkumpyansa. Pero wala man tay mahimo kay mao man gyud nay trabaho nato diri nga gi-assign ko nilag Argao. Mao ning ato gyud ning atubangon ni sila tanan,” he said.

(Of course, I am extra careful because we don’t know where they will attack us. We will not let our guard down. But we also don’t have a choice because this is our job here that we are assigned in Argao. That is why that we should face all of these.)

Argao is a first class municipality of the Province of Cebu which is estimated to be 67 kilometers south of Cebu City.