3 drug suspects slain in Ecija shootouts

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – Three suspected drug traffickers were killed in separate encounters with the Nueva Ecija police over the past three days.

The shootouts occurred in the towns of Zaragoza and San Leonardo, and resulted in the deaths of Aaron Cabrera, 40, of La Paz, Tarlac; Oliver Bartolome, 33, of Jaen, and Warlito Pangilinan, 48, of Gen. Tinio, both in Nueva Ecija.

Bartolome and Pangilinan reportedly belonged to the Bartolome Group, an illegal drug syndicate based in Jaen, according to provincial police director Senior Superintendent Manuel Cornel.

Cabrera was killed in a sting in Barangay Sto. Rosario Young in Zaragoza on Friday.

Case investigator Police Officer 2 Honorio Ramos said Cabrera tried to escape when he sensed that he was dealing with an undercover agent.

The suspect reportedly pulled out a gun and shot at the pursuing police officers, triggering a firefight.

Cabrera was declared dead on arrival at the hospital where he was rushed by the lawmen.

Investigators recovered from the crime scene a .38 caliber revolver, a motorcycle, a mobile phone and a plastic sachet said to contain shabu.

Meanwhile, members of the Jaen and San Leonardo police expressed belief that they have neutralized the Bartolome Group with the killing of Bartolome and Pangilinan in an encounter in Barangay Rizal on Thursday night.

San Leonardo police chief Senior Inspector Domingo Resma said the suspects, who were in a Toyota Corolla, engaged lawmen in a shootout along the San Leonardo-Gen. Tinio Road.

Cornel said Bartolome had a standing arrest warrant for illegal drugs and had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Gapan Regional Trial Court. Pangilinan was also facing trial for illegal drugs.