Quack doctor shoots it out with lawmen, soldiers

CEBU — With voices ringing in his head, a 41-year-old drug-crazed quack doctor engaged policemen from four towns and soldiers from the Visayas Command in a sporadic 12-hour gunbattle from Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning with two M-16 rifles he stole from the police station in Tabogon.

When the smoke of battle cleared, at least three people were wounded, including one of the soldiers.

Rolando Ruiz only surrendered after being convinced he had no way out alive after barricading himself in his home and holding off the police and soldiers the whole night.

Ruiz broke into the armory of the Tabogon police station at about 5 p.m. Monday, unnoticed by the only policeman on duty, and took out two loaded Armalite rifles and three additional magazines.

It was only when Ruiz was already out of the station and ready to escape that PO2 Rosendo Hortelano, who was single-handedly manning the radio and front and clearance desks, saw him with the rifles and gave chase.

Hortelano said he was entertaining questions from a local radio station about an accident hours earlier, while three other policemen on duty at the time were out responding to another traffic accident.

At the time, Tabogon police chief Segundino Lipon was in Bogo for the fiesta of his hometown.

Seeing he was being pursued, Ruiz fired at Hortelano, forcing the policeman to take cover.

Ruiz proceeded to the house of retired policeman Rene Pepito, who at one time was the acting police chief, and fired shots at him.

Talking to reporters later, Ruiz said he only wanted to scare off Pepito, who suffered injuries in the back and wrist when he jumped through a glass wall to escape the attack.

From there, Ruiz ran to the town plaza and fired at a car parked by a man playing basketball nearby. He then proceeded to his own home and boarded himself up.

Police and town officials came and tried to negotiate his surrender but Ruiz instead fired at them, hitting municipal secretary Edgar Alivio in the abdomen.

Because of the standoff, more policemen from Bogo, Catmon and Sogod towns and the PNP Regional Mobile Group as well as Army soldiers arrived at the scene and surrounded Ruiz’s house.

Gunfire erupted at about 8 p.m. and lasted for an hour, although no one was reported hurt.

Then came a four-hour lull as Ruiz stopped firing. The policemen and soldiers refrained from storming the house because of darkness.

A second gunfight erupted at 1 a.m. when, according to Ruiz, a voice warned him that he was being watched. When he saw someone holding a flashlight outside, he said he decided to fire with both rifles blazing. A certain Private Estrada of the Visayas Command was hit.

Ruiz was himself hit in the left thumb but managed to keep the policemen and soldiers at bay.

It was not until 5 a.m. when Ruiz was eventually persuaded to surrender peacefully by his cousin Douglas Gomez and a certain Maj. Patrocinio Comendador.

Ruiz told reporters he used shabu to help him treat his patients.

Police found shabu paraphernalia in his home, and charges are now being readied against him.

Four Tabogon policemen are now also in hot water following the incident.

Provincial police director Jose Antonio Salvacion said Hortelano, his brother PO1 Respel Hortelano, PO1 Giovanni Rios and police chief Lipon will be relieved and charged.

Rios and Respel are the owners of the two rifles which Ruiz had taken. — Freeman News Service