Abducted ‘drug surrenderer’ brutally killed

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) is probing the brutal killing of a drug surrenderer who was abducted by three unidentified men Monday night and was found lifeless nine hours later.

Killed was Ontao Sacar, 66, a native of Marawi City, and temporarily residing at Brgy. Mandalagan here.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Pico, public information officer of BCPO, said the abduction happened last Dec 2 while Sacar and his 30-year-old wife were walking home after eating dinner around 9:20 p.m.

The abductors allegedly forced him inside a red sports utility vehicle near a convenience store at Barangay 8 here.

The victim’s wife immediately reported the incident to the nearest police station and pursuit operations were conducted.

Sacar’s body was found at the grassy area of a vacant lot at Barangay Mandalagan past 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Pico said the victim’s hands were hogtied and his face and mouth were covered with adhesive tape.

His chest and abdomen were painted with the words “I love drugs” and a cardboard with the words “Wag Tularan. Big time pusher ako” was also left at the crime scene, he added.

Pico said Sacar suffered two gunshot wounds in the head, based on the initial investigation. The victim will undergo autopsy.

He said they cannot yet tell if Sacar was a victim of vigilante killing as the investigation is still ongoing.

“It is still too early to conclude anything and the information is limited,” he added.

He said the killing was planned.

“May kainit gid ni ang nag himo sa iya and may intention na indi siya pag buhi-on based sa manner sang pagpatay sa iya. Ka brutal,” he added.

Pico said they will ascertain if the victim was tortured before he was killed or if he was killed somewhere and was left there.

He said they will check with his family if he had previous threats which could give them leads in the investigation.

According to his wife, Sacar has been staying here for more than 10 years now. He was also a former member of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) of Barangay 31.

Meanwhile, authorities are eyeing three angles behind the killing – drug-related, business-related, and personal.

Police are closely looking into illegal drugs as he surrendered to Police Station 6 through Oplan Tokhang in September 2018.

Pico said they are exploring all angles including personal and business following Sacar’s alleged involvement in a scam here.

On the other hand, Pico said that the latest abduction case is isolated and he assured that police will give justice to the victim and his family.

Pico also dismissed reports about a white van roaming in the city allegedly abducting children. The report about the alleged abductions here circulated on social media in the past weeks, causing fear to the public.

“It is not true,” he stressed, claiming that there are people who are just abusing social media and sabotaging the crime prevention measures of the authorities to create panic and cause fear to the people.

For his part, Police Colonel Romeo Baleros, director of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office Nocppo, also denied the same report.

Despite two abduction incidents in the province in the past months, Baleros said that these were just isolated cases.

“Walang dapat ikabahala at ikatakot ang mga tao,” he stressed.