PNP recalls kapitans’ shotguns
IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE GUN BAN
LINGAYEN—After relentlessly defending the retention of the shotguns in the possession of the barangay chairmen at all times, the provincial police director suddenly ordered the recall of the 1,300 shotguns issued to the barangay kapitans last year, ostensibly in compliance with the gun ban for the May 2010 election that took effect last January 10.
Senior Supt. Percival Barba said the 48 municipal and city police chiefs across the province have been instructed to collect the guns even as they identify safe storage places for the weapons until the gun ban is lifted after June 9.
Barba, in an interview with The PUNCH, said majority of the shotguns will most likely be kept at the provincial police headquarters as most police stations have no armoury or ample storage area.
Meanwhile, two mayors have requested that the shotguns be retained by the kapitans in their barangays but Barba said these have been declined.
He pointed out that the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the police and the barangay chairmen before these firearms were issued state that the shotguns must be recalled during an election period.
This was the first time that Barba invoked the memorandum to justify the sudden recall.
ESPINO’S CLARIFICATION
In a related development, the provincial government headed by Governor Amado Espino Jr. issued a statement last week stressing that it holds no authority over the shotguns it distributed to the kapitans.
After the signing of the supplemental MOA, transferring the ownership of the shotguns to the barangays as a grant from the province, the shotguns ceased to be properties of the provincial government and became the property of the barangays while the police is tasked with operational supervision in the utilization, maintenance and retrieval of the shotguns, the statement said.
The statement came after several reports of abuse on the use of the shotguns by some barangay chairmen.
The most recent incident involved a kapitan from Labrador town who used his government-issued shotgun to assault a provincial prosecutor inside the town’s Hall of Justice over the handling of a court case involving himself.
The erring kapitan has been charged for various offenses.
The Capitol also stressed that the kapitans signed to “use the shotgun exclusively in the barangay’s campaign for peace and order. In no case shall the said firearm be taken outside of the barangay’s territorial jurisdiction, except in cases of legitimate hot pursuit, or in other valid and justifiable cases, which the PNP may allow.”#
APPEAL FOR PEACEFUL POLLS
LINGAYEN—Following the start of the gun ban and the recall of the shotguns distributed to barangay kapitans last week, Governor Amado Espino Jr. appealed to all provincial officials, barangay council heads and all candidates to help ensure a peaceful and orderly conduct of the May 2010 elections.
Espino said with the help of the province’s police force, he is optimistic that there would be minimal incidents of election-related violence.
Meanwhile, the new Philippine National Police (PNP) regional director, P/CSupt. Constante D. Azares Jr., pledged his full support to Pangasinan even as he said that the province is generally secure under the leadership of Espino.
The PNP, Azares said, will remain loyal to its mandate of ensuring public safety and not just protecting politicians who are running for office.
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