Man who died after running amuck tests positive for COVID; 13 cops on quarantine

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The man who was shot dead after running amuck had tested positive for COVID-19.

Major Raymond Celoso, Sta. Barbara police chief, said they were verbally informed that Joel Simpao, 41, a resident of Barangay Bagumbayan, Santa Barbara, contracted the virus.

Celoso said Simpao’s brother, Barangay Kagawad Joan Simpao, called him Tuesday afternoon to inform them about the result.

Simpao died at the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriao, Iloilo City after he was shot by a police officer.

“We’re still asking for the official RT-PCR result,” Celoso said Wednesday afternoon.

In the meantime, Celoso said that he and five other members of Sta. Barbara Police Station are on office quarantine.

Major Felix Alianza, chief of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO)’s Special Weapons and Tactics team, was already informed to have his seven personnel, who also responded to the scene of the incident, to undergo quarantine.

“We will await for the assessment of the contract tracers if there’s a need for us to undergo RT-PCR test,” Alianza said.

The compound where Simpao lived and an adjacent house had been place on “lockdown.”

Affected residents were advised not to go out of their houses pending recommendation from the Rural Health Unit.

The Sta. Barbara Police Station went to Barangay Bagumbayan Monday afternoon after Simpao’s sister asked for their help.

Police had to respond since the victim was armed with a bolo and a knife. They tried to negotiate for Simpao to peacefully surrender his weapons.

Celoso asked for assistance from the IPPO-SWAT team when Simpao refused their overtures.

Also put on standby were personnel of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

The responding authorities decided to use improvised bamboo ladders to pin down Simpao and neutralize him.

But he managed to wiggle out of the ladders and attacked Celoso with a bolo.

Celoso parried the attack with a bamboo pole, but lost his balance because of the impact.

When Simpao tried to attack the police chief, Master Sergeant Richard Jamoyot fired his gun and hit the former on the right side of his body.

Celoso suffered bruises on his right hand and was taken to Western Visayas Sanitarium while the suspect was taken to a hospital in Iloilo City where he died at around 12:28 a.m. Tuesday.