Ex-Manila cop in Duterte drug list shot dead

MANILA, Philippines — A former official of the Manila Police District (MPD) who was included in President Duterte’s drug list died in an ambush in Manila yesterday morning.

Retired Superintendent Roberto Palisoc, 59, and his companion Renato Dumalaon were in a pedicab driven by Noel Bernardino when two men on a motorcycle sneaked from behind and opened fire at the corner of A. Linao and San Andres streets in Ermita at around 9:15 a.m.

Palisoc died at the scene from three gunshots to the head and face. Dumalaon was hit by stray bullets and taken to the hospital for treatment, according to Senior Police Officer 2 Bernardo Cayabyab of the MPD homicide unit.

Bernardino told probers that Palisoc was his neighbor and a regular passenger.

“He said he wanted to eat and asked me to transport him and his companion. I heard successive gunshots and then I saw them bleeding,” Bernardino said.

‘High-value target’

Palisoc, who was previously assigned with the MPD Station 7 anti-illegal drugs unit in Tondo, had been considered a “high-value target.”

He was tagged by President Duterte in the illegal drug trade in August 2016.

Former MPD director Chief Superintendent Joel Napoleon Coronel said Palisoc was relieved from his post in 2011 and reassigned to the National Capital Region Police Office, where he was promoted as superintendent before he retired in the same year.

A source from the MPD said Palisoc was allegedly connected with a group of “ninja cops,” who take payoffs from drug rings or resell a big portion of the illegal drugs seized from anti-narcotics operations.

The source said they visited Palisoc days after his name was included in the President’s narco list and he voluntarily surrendered three firearms.

“We never heard from him since then,” the source said.

“We cannot say who wanted him dead. Maybe he had enemies or this could be something related to the cleansing in the police force. We can only speculate,” the source added.