Drug lord Sabalones may still be alive

CEBU, Philippines — Is self-confessed drug lord Franz Sabalones still alive?

This can be the case or his records at the Commission on Elections are not authentic.

Police Regional Office - 7 Director Debold Sinas disclosed yesterday that the fingerprints taken from the man killed in April who was identified as Sabalones did not match the fingerprints in Sabalones’ file with the Comelec.

“Ang fingerprint didto sa Comelec San Fernando, wala nag-match. That is the official finding. Wala namo gigawas kay gi-check namo ulit (The fingerprint with Comelec in San Fernando did not match. That is the official finding. We did not release it right away because we had to verify),” Sinas said.

Sinas said there are two possibilities at this point – either the fingerprints in the Comelec records are not Sabalones’ or the notorious drug lord is still alive.

If he is still alive, he must have faked his death to avoid the law, Sinas said.

Sabalones was reportedly shot dead by unknown assailants while he was about to enter a billiard bar along Timog Avenue, Quezon City last April 18, Maundy Thursday.

Police Major Elmer Monsalve of the Criminal Investigation Detection Unit of the Quezon City Police District said Sabalones was identified through his cousin, a beautician named Joselito Cabilao.

Sinas said the next step is to test the DNA of the man killed in Quezon City. The body is reportedly still in the morgue, as no one claimed it.

The problem with a DNA test, Sinas said, is that there might be no one to test the DNA sample with because Sabalones’ kin are no longer found in San Fernando.

“Gihulat namo kinsa mo-claim, igsuon parents or anak, or tatay kung kinsa muadto mao kuhaan nato DNA. Giaadtuan ang family, gibisita na, para makita ang Sabalones relative, but wala na daw (We waited for anyone, perhaps children or parents, to claim the body so we can do a DNA test but no one claimed the body. We visited San Fernando but we could not find his family or relatives,” he said.

Sabalones is considered one of the top drug lords in Cebu controlling most of the towns in the southern part of the province. San Fernando was reportedly his stronghold.

He first confessed his drug dealings to former PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa back in 2016, but his admission was not enough for jail time.

Since then, Sabalones went into hiding and continued his drug business through his cohorts.  JMO (FREEMAN)