Oro demolition team member killed

A DEMOLITION turned bloody in Barangay Puntod on Tuesday when a member of the demolition team was allegedly killed by one of the residents who refused to leave while a police was injured after a melee ensued.

Armed with the writ of demolition issued by Branch 20 of the Regional Trial Court, a demolition team dismantled the houses of the families residing in the area who were ordered to leave as soon as possible whether the lands where their houses stand are titled or not.

Tension gripped as the demolition team began dismantling houses within the perimeters of Dacudao compound particularly the western part where residents blocked every passage by putting piles of sacks, scattering broken glass bottles, and setting on fire rubber materials.

Albert Acma, 26, a resident Kauswagan and a member of the demolition team, was shot dead when a bullet hit the upper portion of his right eye fired allegedly by a resident known only as Estong who escaped after the incident while PO1 Mardonio Malihaw of City Public Safety Company was shot in his left shank by allegedly another shooter.

Jonathan Bandianon, a colleague of Acma, said the police instructed them to tear down the sheet roofing used as barricade by the residents. The police ordered us to open the barricade. Albert, who was nearer to the post, immediately got shot at his right eye. People ran away and I heard shouting and screaming. When I looked at Albert, he was lying on the floor with blood oozing out from his head, Bandianon said.

Unplanned demolition

Bandianon and Acma have been doing their job for almost three years now. And he blamed the police for the unplanned demolition.

It was clear the police were at fault on this one. They sent us without conducting a clearing operation first. It was only minutes later they realized that everything was unplanned when they had to re-route because they could not penetrate the area anymore, he said.

Superintendent Aaron Mandia, head of the City Public Safety Company, however, insisted there was a clearing operation before they removed the blockade.

Previously, the barangay captain (Marvin Beja) has negotiated with the resistance force, but the latter insisted they should not be included from the operations. Prior to the incident, the sheriff talked with them for the last time, but still they insisted. We have already expected that they have arms but we did not expect that it was that abrupt, Mandia said.

Go here to read the rest:
Oro demolition team member killed