When SPO1 Adonis De Los Amantes Dumpit was transferred to Bohol in 2016, I had the opportunity to interview him for this little corner. He was teary-eyed when he told your VRS (and The Freeman’s Jessa Agua-Ylanan) that he missed his 85-year-old mother Liwayway in Davao Oriental, and only son, Norman.
My last encounter with Dumpit was during the command visit of PNP- Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde at Bohol Provincial Police Office two weeks ago. I was surprised to see him because I thought he was transferred to Cebu after his short stint at BPPO. He greeted me with a warm smile and extended his hand while he shrugged off those who wanted to take a selfie with him.
In his 20 years in the police force, Dumpit received awards and commendations and was dreaded by Cebu City’s underworld characters in 2000 for hunting down petty criminals. So, everyone knew him as the “super cop.”
But last week’s news shocked the entire region. He was killed.
It was his last goodbye.
Ma. Ella Amores, 45, said when her live-in partner SPO1 Adonis Dumpit bid goodbye last Wednesday (June 27, 2018) morning, she felt strange that she wanted to hug him tightly.
Little did she know that it was to be the last time she would see him.
Dumpit, her live-in partner for a decade, was killed on June 27 in a joint operation by the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Bohol.
Amores said Dumpit, 54, left home early as he had been told that President Duterte would be in Bohol on Thursday. He said he was needed at the Camp Francisco Dagohoy for a briefing.
She said Dumpit had brought his uniform and the book that he was asked to photocopy.
She was later told that Dumpit, while driving his motorcycle, was killed at 8:20 a.m. in Purok 1, Dagohoy Road, San Isidro District, at least 200 meters from their house.
Dumpit was assigned at the Bohol Police Provincial Office. He was the former close-in aide of Cebu City Mayor Tomas “Tommy” Osmeña.
She said she heard gunshots but thought they were just fireworks.
But one of her adopted children told her Dumpit was killed.
Amores believed that the 15 sachets of shabu found from Dumpit’s pants were planted. Only his uniform and some clothes were found in the utility box of his motorcycle.
“Wala jud na ana… nag-awanta mi sa among kinabuhi nga nagpuyo nga malinawon. Putlan man gani mig kuryente (We were never into drugs. We endured life’s hardships in order to live in peace. There were even times when our electricity was cut off),” she explained.
She believed some people held a grudge against Dumpit since he was active working against drugs.
Dumpit once told her that he was reassigned for some reasons.
She said Dumpit explained to her why he was transferred from Cebu to Bohol.
“Mapagan ko permanente sa pagan sa higante (I always caught in the crossfire between giants),” Amores quoted Dumpit telling her.
She also questioned the manner of operation. She said it was an ambush.
“Dapat muari sila, ilang tuyo gikan sa taas, raid sila, willing mi magpasaka unsa man ilang tuyo. Kampanti jud, kampanti tong tawo nga wala gud anomaly,” she said.
“Ambush to, ambush to. asa gud dapit maintercept. Ambush to. Dapat muari sila, ilang tuyo gikan sa taas, raid sila, willing mi magpasaka unsa man ilang tuyo. kampanti jud, kampanti tong tawo nga wala gud anomalya,” she said.
But NBI-Bohol head Rennan Augustus Oliva denied Amores’ claim that their operation was an ambush.
“Iya nang opinion pero klaro to nga mingsukol, understable na kay kalive in partner siya unya mabasa ninyo ang report unysa na iyang kalive in so naa ta mga nya naa tay follow-up operation. Pero klaro man atong operation, naa may witnesses. Naa jud firefight nahitabo. Dili ambush. Kay if ambush dili mupusil una ang subject. Napusil gud og una. Naa man tay witnesses (They have their opinions. But it was very clear that the subject engaged our operatives in a shootout, and we have witnesses to prove it,” he said.
He said it was a legitimate operation that they had monitored Dumpit’s illegal activities.
Oliva also stressed that the information that Dumpit was a “narco police” first came from the police and not from NBI.
The PNP Crime Lab has not released its official results on the ballistic examination and parriffin results.
Neighbors said Dumpit was a quiet and a good person.
“He was serious but fun to be around. Nobody deserves a fate like that,” a neighbor who requested anonymity said.
Another neighbor said “he was kind and who focused almost completely on his work.”
PRO-7 confirmed that there was no reason to give any honors to Dumpit, despite his earlier reputation, who ended his police career with involvement in the illegal drug trade.
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