By Edwin Fernandez
COTABATO CITY – Operatives of the North Cotabato police provincial office, along with highway patrol group (HPG) members, are jointly searching for a man who shot a highway patrol officer during law enforcement in Matalam town on Tuesday night.
The victim, Police Senior Master Sergeant (PSMS) Noel M. Demate, a resident of Pigcawayan and currently assigned to the Cotabato Provincial Highway Patrol Team, was hit in his lower jaw after the 6:50 p.m. shooting.
According to Major James Baugbog, the HPG team leader, his group was conducting a nighttime law enforcement operation targeting carjacked vehicles near the Matalam town runabout when the shooting occurred.
“It was a routine operation following a recent rise in carjacking cases. An unidentified motorcyclist attempted to pass the checkpoint but was politely stopped for inspection,” he said in a report Wednesday.
However, he said the man pulled a pistol and shot Demate in the face and sped away toward Kabacan town, also in North Cotabato.
The victim was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment, while police launched a manhunt in neighboring towns to intercept the fleeing gunman.
Police investigators are still unclear about the motive and identity of the lone attacker, but the HPG believes the attack was related to its intensified operation against illegal vehicles and carjacking.
The Matalam municipal police office has condemned the senseless act of violence against law enforcement personnel faithfully performing their sworn duty to protect the community and maintain peace and order.
“Such criminal acts will not deter the police force from intensifying its campaign against all forms of crime,” the Matalam police said in a statement on Wednesday. (PNA)
