Drug suspect killed in Laguna ‘shootout’

LAGUNA, Philippines — A suspected drug trafficker was killed in an alleged encounter with anti-narcotics agents in Calamba in this province on Saturday night.

Roi Urbiztondo was declared dead on arrival at the JP Rizal Hospital. He reportedly resisted and drew his firearm when undercover agents arrested him during a sting in Barangay Bucal, according to Lt. Col. Lany Martinez, Calamba police chief.

Martinez said the fatality was reportedly a major drug supplier in the town and nearby areas.

Urbiztondo reportedly sold an undetermined amount of drugs to undercover agents.

P1.2 million marijuana seized in Rizal

Meanwhile, in Rizal, dried marijuana leaves with an estimated street value of P1.2 million were seized from four men during a sting in Rodriquez town on Saturday.

Police arrested the suspects, identified as Anjo Aselmo, Lorenzo Catalon, Jomari Pascua and Errol Fritz Santiago.

The suspects reportedly yielded 12 marijuana bricks each weighing one kilo, marked money and a digital weighing scale.

Col. Dominic Baccay, Rizal police director, said they received reports that the suspects were behind the rampant selling of illegal drugs, particularly marijuana at the South Ville in Barangay San Isidro.

“The suspects were the targets of the operation of the provincial intelligence unit. We had been monitoring their movement in the area even before we received the information,” Baccay told The STAR.