Another hero has fallen in the line of duty as a front liner in the national anti-drug campaign.

Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac Jr., the newly installed director general of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), ordered the national and regional offices of the agency to put their colors on half-mast as expression of sorrow over the death of Intelligence Officer 2 Louie John Giberson, a 31-year-old Provincial Drug Enforcement Officer in Agusan Del Norte province. He belonged to the Drug Enforcement Officers’ Basic Course (DEOBC) Class 2006-01 “Unang Sinag” of the PDEA Academy.

Cacdac said that Giberson was shot dead inside his black Mitsubishi Lancer sedan (GPH-360), at the Interior Road between Purok 2 and Purok 3, Barangay Kauswagan, Cabadbaran City, in Agusan del Norte province during a buy-bust operation on October 17, 2012.

At about 8 p.m., Giberson, who acted as the poseur-buyer, was able to hatch a drug transaction for the purchase of 30 grams of shabu with a suspected pusher identified as Abul Mamao.

According to the information gathered, Giberson, together with a confidential informant, a certain alias Oming, Mamao, and an unidentified person rode with Giberson in his car.

Two hours later, the PDEA Regional Office 13 (PDEA RO13), under Director Joel Plaza received a phone call from the Cabadbaran City Police Station informing the duty officer of a shooting incident along Barangay Kauswagan where the slain victim was identified as Giberson.

“Authorities found Giberson’s lifeless body with gunshot wounds inside his vehicle. A concerned citizen reportedly saw the incident saying that unidentified persons shot Giberson and immediately fled the scene,” Cacdac said, adding that a follow-up investigation is in prog-ress, to identify the perpetrators.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of one of my men,” the PDEA chief lamented, as he strongly condemned the brutal killing.