In any angle the handiwork of a “vigilante”, two men were shot dead in one day last week, one in Tagbilaran and one in Dauis.

First, a brother of an arrested robbery suspect, and later, a former barangay kagawad of Poblacion 2 who had been arrested for drugs twice.

Authorities continued to dismiss the presence of vigilante in Bohol amid the spate of shooting incidents where most of the victims had police records.

Former Poblacion 2 barangay kagawad Mateo Levi Baseleres was shot in the head and shortly, died while backriding a motorcycle at around 7:30 p.m. on February 26 along the Circumferential Road in Poblacion 3.

Baseleres was arrested during a drug raid on February 19 at his residence at Remolador St., Poblacion 2, this city, bust managed to post bail.

Cebu’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, together with personnel of the Tagbilaran City Police and the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency conducted the raid based on a search warrant issued by Judge Solever Peras of the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 in Cebu.

The raiding team confiscated five sachets of shabu and several drug paraphernalia during the operation.

However, Baseleres denied that the sachets of shabu seized during the operation belonged to him.

Prior to the raid, Baseleres had also been arrested for drugs and had been charged for a drug case.

On Friday evening last week, the Tagbilaran City Police Station received a telephone call at around 07:40 p.m., informing of a shooting incident that transpired near the outlet of Sr. Pedro Lechon Manok along the Circumferential Road in Poblacion 3.

Upon verification and investigation made by the responding police officers, it was later learned that the victim was Mateo Levi Baseleres, also known as “Boy Baseleres”, a 56-year-old businessman, , married and a resident of Remolador St. corner Visarra St. in Poblacion 2, Tagbilaran City.

The responding cops found him lying on the ground near a Yamaha Mio motorcycle with plate no. GC 55594, with gunshot wounds in the head which caused his instantaneous death.

The Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered three fired cartridge cases of caliber 9mm ammunition., one fired slug, and a cash amounting to P38,033, a brown wallet containing a driver’s license and small green notebook that contains several names of persons and the amount of collectibles of an alleged illegal business transactions with the victim.

In the spot investigation conducted at the crime scene, the victim’s companion that night, identified as one Linda dela Peña, said that while she was driving she heard several burst of gunfire which she thought was just firecrackers.

Just then, the victim whispered to her to stop. When she stopped the motorcycle, the victim, who was riding at the back, fell down from the motorcycle.

It shocked her to see that Baseleres had gunshot wounds in the head.

She then saw an unknown motorcycle passing by, but she didn’t mind it as her attention was on the victim.

She then asked some passersby to call the police station.

Dela Peña, single, is a 35-year-old native of Canhaway, Guindulman, but is temporarily staying in Dela Paz, Cortes.

She confirmed that Baseleres was involved in illegal drugs.

The city police team continues to hunt down Baseleres’ assailants.

Also on February 26, at around 3:11 p.m., personnel of Dauis Municipal Health Office dropped by the municipal police station to inform about a shooting incident that transpired in Barangay Catarman.

A team composed of SPO1 Rommel Libaton, PO3 Michael Armildez, PO2 Dennis Quijada, PO2 Alberto Colo, PO1 Sonny Miras and PO1 Roberto Trinidad immediately proceeded to the area.

They later identified the victim as one Arnel Ciruela, 22 years old, single, unemployed and a resident of purok 6 in Barangay Catarman.

According to witnesses, the victim was sitting inside a billiard hall owned by one Sally Migueles at purok 3 in their barangay when the unidentified assailant with cloth around his face and a short firearm of unknown caliber approached and shot the victim twice at close range, hitting the victim’s head.

The assailant immediately left the billiard hall and fled on board the getaway vehicle driven by another man waiting outside.

At around 4 p.m., PSInsp. Caesar Acompañado called up Camp Dagohoy to send the SOCO team.

The SOCO team, led by PInsp. Jovanni Abregana, arrived at around 5:15 p.m..

They found the victim’s gunshot wounds with one right temple entrance, one back middle of head as entrance and one right portion of the head as exit.

It was later learned that the victim was the younger brother one Alexander Ciruela, a wanted person facing charges of robbery with violence and or intimidation of persons who had been arrested in Tagbilaran City a day before.

Elements of Tagbilaran City Police, together with the team from the Regional Public Safety Battalion 4th company based in Loon—PO2 Fernando Galan Jr., PO1 Kelvin Ray Ranque, PO1 Lyle Joseph Alalid, personnel of the Provincial Intelligence Branch of the Bohol Provincial Office arrested the older Ciruela at around 5:15 p.m. on February 25 in Barangay Bool.

Alexander, 27, is a mason and a resident of Barangay Catarman, Dauis.

His arrest was based on an alias warrant of arrest issued by Judge Fernando Fuentes III of the Regional Trial Court Branch 49 in Tagbilaran City.

The shooting incidents again revived suspicions that a vigilante has been operating in Bohol.

However, both Police Provincial Director Dennis Agustin and City Chief of Police George Vale dismissed the suspicions.