THE Police Regional Office-Caraga yesterday ordered an investigation on Mayor Roberto “Jimmy” Luna, of Lingig, Surigao del Sur to determine his links with Joel Apolinario, founder of the Kapa Community Ministry who was arrested Tuesday in Surigao del Sur for syndicated estafa and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Two of Apolinario’s men died in a shootout with the operating police team. Twenty of his men were arrested.
Based on initial information, the 20-hectare island resort that had been used by Apolinario and his bodyguards as hideout since January was either rented or bought from Luna, Police Brig. Gen. Joselito Esquivel, PRO-Caraga (Region 13) director, said In an interview over radio dzBB.
Esquivel said the property is in a secluded portion of Sitio Dahican, Barangay Handamayan in Lingig town, that would take at least 10 hours from the provincial capital of Tandag, Surigao del Sur to reach.
He said his men travelled by sea and hiked for at least an hour before reaching Apolinario’s hideout which he said was being fortified, as shown by an 11-foot perimeter wall being constructed around the main house.
Esquivel said Apolinario’s hideout was tightly guarded and his followers were carrying high-powered firearms.
He said he learned that the guards were paid between P10,000 to P15,000 a month. He said the guards were from Polomolok in South Cotabato, General Santos City, and Lingig and Tagbina towns in Surigao del Sur.
In an interview with CNN Philippines late Wednesday night, Esquivel, who assumed the post of Caraga police chief in September last year, also said Apolinario’s arrest was a product of months of intelligence gathering.
He said last December, they obtained information that Apolinario has acquired an island resort somewhere in the province. After a month or two, it was validated that the island resort was located in Sitio Dahican, Barangay Handamayan in Lingig, a second class municipality in Surigao del Sur.
Esquivel said the operation against Apolinario was originally planned last March but they were not able to carry it out as lockdowns were imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the quarantine measures were relaxed, the police started to plan the raid that led to Apolinario’s arrest. A cache of high-powered firearms and bullets were recovered from the lair.
“As you can see, meron siyang (he has an) organized group, parang (just like) private mercenaries to defend him,” Esquivel said.
He said they are also tracing the sources of the high-powered firearms seized from Apolinario’s hideout. He said someone had been selling the guns to Apolinario. He said among those seized were “military grade” M60 machine guns and “decommissioned” firearms.
Apolinario has arrest warrants of arrest for syndicated estafa for enticing his followers and their relatives and friends to “invest” in securities in the country without approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
