NABBED OR SNATCHED?: Police offer differing accounts of Pavia incidents

By Jennifer P. Rendon and Francis Allan L. Angelo

Three law enforcement entities are telling three different stories about what happened on the evening of Feb. 23 in Pavia, Iloilo, after two incidents that looked like street snatching or abduction turned out to be far more complicated than initially reported.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Iloilo says both incidents were legitimate police operations. The Police Regional Office 6 says at least one was a domestic dispute. And the Pavia Municipal Police Station, caught in the middle, has largely stayed silent.

The confusion began when two separate reports of apparent snatchings surfaced within minutes of each other in Pavia, both involving a red or maroon sedan whose occupants were seen dragging individuals into the vehicle.

The first incident was reported at around 6:25 p.m. when the Pavia Municipal Police Station received a report that a male cyclist later identified as Mark Alarcon, 45, of Barangay Cabugao Sur, had allegedly been shot and forcibly taken.

A security guard at a nearby establishment said he heard gunfire, then saw two men aboard a red or maroon vehicle trying to subdue the man before dragging him inside. The vehicle sped off toward Iloilo City.

The local police requested the Scene of the Crime Operations team for crime scene processing and evidence handling, treating the incident as a potential crime scene.

Five minutes later, a second incident was reported near a convenience store at Purok III, Pavia, involving a woman identified as Gene Stephanie “Steph” Guillem, who was allegedly dragged into a similar vehicle by three men who sped off toward Barangay Aganan. The incident was formally reported to police at 9 p.m.

When bystanders tried to intervene, the men identified themselves as PNP members, causing witnesses to back off.

Guillem’s mother appeared at the police station, citing witnesses who said her daughter was forced to lie on her stomach before being dragged into the vehicle.

Pavia police chief Capt. Ritz Field Presquito launched a hot pursuit operation to locate both individuals, which continued until around 8:30 a.m. the following day.

At that point, Guillem appeared at the station and told Presquito the incident was a domestic dispute with a former boyfriend who had been pressuring her to reconcile.

She told Presquito, “gusto n’ya na makipagbalikan sa akon kay nabal-an n’ya nga nag glow up na ko.” (“He wants to get back together with me because he found out I’ve glowed up.”)

Steph said her ex-boyfriend released her at around 11 p.m. the same evening. She told police she did not immediately report the incident because she was too tired, and that she did not intend to file any criminal case against him.

CIDG TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY

More than 12 hours after the incidents, the CIDG-Iloilo Provincial Field Unit released a noon statement Tuesday that directly contradicted the domestic dispute narrative — at least in part.

The CIDG admitted it had conducted both operations simultaneously as part of Paglalansag Omega, its campaign against illegal firearms, specifically for violation of Republic Act No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Lt. Job Lujan, CIDG-IPFU deputy chief, said Alarcon was arrested after he allegedly sold a .38-caliber revolver for PHP 3,500. The inventory of seized items was conducted at the CIDG-IPFU office in La Paz, Iloilo City, citing personnel security.

Lujan also clarified that the gunfire heard by witnesses resulted from a struggle between Alarcon and CIDG operatives, during which a CIDG member sustained a graze wound on his foot.

Critically, Lujan said Steph was also a subject of the CIDG operation — not merely a victim of a jealous ex-boyfriend. She was released, he said, only after no firearm was found in her possession.

This account directly clashes with PRO-6’s characterization of the Steph incident as a simple domestic dispute, raising questions about whether the regional police office was aware of the CIDG’s simultaneous operation involving the same woman.

PRO-6 ISSUES ITS OWN STATEMENT

The Police Regional Office 6 issued a separate statement addressing only the Guillem incident, describing it as a domestic dispute between Steph and her former boyfriend and making no mention of any CIDG operation involving her.

“Based on the investigation conducted by the Pavia Municipal Police Station, the incident was not a case of abduction,” PRO-6 said. “The matter stemmed from a personal misunderstanding or love quarrel.”

PRO-6 confirmed that Guillem appeared at the police station at around 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 24 to clarify the matter, and said proper documentation and verification procedures are being undertaken.

The regional office also urged the public to refrain from spreading unverified information, reiterating its commitment to transparency — even as its own account and that of the CIDG remain unreconciled.

COORDINATION GAPS?

The contradictions extend to questions of inter-agency coordination, further muddying the picture.

Lujan maintained that CIDG Provincial Director Lt. Col. Erwin Cordano had coordinated with the Pavia police chief prior to the operations.

But Presquito, as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, had only relayed Guillem’s domestic dispute account, hinting he had received reports that Alarcon was in CIDG custody. He declined to issue a formal statement, saying he had no clearance from Lt. Col. Rolando Araño, spokesperson of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office.

Col. Bayani Razalan, Iloilo police chief, said he was unaware of any coordination at his level, suggesting that if coordination occurred, it was limited to the municipal level and did not reach senior provincial command.

The lack of coordination resulted in local police treating both incidents as abductions, deploying the SOCO team, and conducting an overnight hot pursuit operation — all for what the CIDG now says were pre-planned, sanctioned operations.

As of Tuesday afternoon, an inquest case for violation of Republic Act No. 10591 was filed against Alarcon. Records show he had previously been arrested on a drug-related offense in 2013 and was released from incarceration in 2017.