Bacong: The shooting incidents in Bacong, Negros Oriental in the past two months were all traced to the illegal drug trade, police officials said on Thursday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Capt. Stephen Jaynard Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO), stated that all five shootings took place in Bacong, with one cleared, another solved, and the rest still under investigation. "Based on investigation, police in Bacong have found that the recent shooting incidents were all related to the illegal drug trade," Polinar said.

Polinar mentioned that while all incidents were drug-related, investigators are still determining if these cases are interconnected. Police provincial director Col. Timmar Alam has ordered a thorough investigation into the shootings and confirmed the recent relief of the Bacong police chief under the two-strike policy of the Philippine National Police. "The two-strike policy still applies to police chiefs who are relieved of their duties for failing to solve successive shooting incidents in their assigned stations," Alam stated.

The latest shooting incident in Bacong occurred in Barangay North Poblacion on the evening of May 16, when two unidentified male suspects on a motorcycle shot the victim, who was also driving a motorcycle. Three other shootings happened in Barangay Banilad on April 12 and 23, and May 3; and one took place in Liptiong on March 15. Out of the five shooting incidents, four were classified as murder and one as frustrated murder.

Col. Timmar Alam noted that his priority programs in the fight against crime include illegal drugs and loose firearms. Meanwhile, Timmar assured the public there is no organized gun-for-hire group in the province. He believes these individuals merely 'come and go' based on their goals or purposes and do not remain in one location for an extended period.