KIDAPAWAN CITY – A police officer was fatally wounded when the suspect he and his team were serving a warrant on shot at them in a running gun battle in Arakan, North Cotabato on Thursday, October 22.
But before P/Staff Master Sergeant Rofel Manuel succumbed to his chest wound, he was able to neutralize and gun down the suspect, Arnold Maligatong, a former Army soldier working as a security guard at the Mountain Mix Mining Company in Arakan.
Cotabato Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Col. Henry Villar hailed Manuel, 44 and a member of the Arakan Municipal Police Station, a “fallen hero” as he was still able to fire back at Maligatong and prevent the suspect from inflicting harm on the other police operatives.
According to the police report, Manuel and his team were going to serve an arrest warrant for murder on Maligatong at around 7:45 a.m. at the suspect’s residence in Sitio Pine Tree, Barangay Libertad.
But instead of giving himself up, the suspect tried to escape with a pistol in hand. It later turned out that the gun was Maligatong’s service firearm when he was still in the Army.
The police team gave chase, but Maligatong fired back at them, hitting Manuel in the chest.
According to Villar, Manuel, though critically wounded, was still able to return fire, and neutralize the suspect.
Manuel and the murder suspect were declared dead on-arrival at a hospital in Arakan town, Villar said.
The operatives seized from the suspect a caliber 45 pistol, two pieces of magazines, and eight pieces of ammunition for the pistol.
Villar, in a statement, expressed grief over the death of one of his bravest operatives in Arakan.
He said Manuel deserved honor and recognition for his bravery, “a trait considered an immeasurable contribution to the PNP organization”.