CEBU CITY – The death of the No. 1 most wanted person in Central Visayas dealt a big blow to private armed groups operating in Negros Oriental, police said.
POLICE Col. Ronan Claravall, chief of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, says the crime rate in Negros Oriental has gone down following the death of the most wanted person in Central Visayas. (Calvin D. Cordova)
Police Col. Ronan Claravall, chief of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO), said the death of Alex Mayagma will help bring the crime rate down in Negros Oriental.
“His death is a big blow. They (private armed groups) could no longer move. We have statistics and data to prove that the crime rate in the province has gone down after his death,” Claravall said in an interview at the headquarters of the Cebu City-based Police Regional Office-Central Visayas on Friday, August 11.
Mayagma was killed after he allegedly shot it out with law enforcers who tried to serve an arrest warrant against him in Barangay Malabugas, Bayawan City on July 31.
Mayagma was wanted for murder charges and violation of the election gun ban, said Claravall.
Claravall said operations against private armed groups in Negros Oriental are still ongoing as the police believe that Mayagma belonged to a group of hitmen.
“He is not the leader but he is the Top 1 considered as a hitman of a certain individual. Our operations against private armies are continuous,” Claravall said.
Claravall said they are not discounting the possibility that Mayagma could have been utilized by some groups for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
“With the funding and his ability, he knew how to handle himself, most likely he will be used in the coming elections. He belonged to a big group but we are slowly neutralizing them,” said Claravall.
Claravall said NOPPO is ready for the BSKE in October as he assured that there are enough personnel to secure the province.