The lady reporters and guns

By Eva C. Visperas

Most were not afraid to hold .45 caliber guns and 9 mm pistols but bloopers along the way made the lady reporters’ fun shoot held last December 9 at the Pangasinan Provincial Office Firing Range in Lingayen, a lot of fun and memorable.

Still, more than 20 lady news reporters, together with some Dagupan City policewomen and members of  Kiwanis Club of Dagupeña, successfully managed to demonstrate their target shooting skills despite their being neophytes shooters and quickly overcame their fear of holding a gun. Ninety percent of the participants held a gun for the first time and were expectedly nervous. But you should see them shoot.

“KAKASA KA BA?” was an all-women fun shoot organized by the Kiwanis Club of Dagupeña, and City Councilor Farah Marie G. Decano, assisted by the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office and the Pangasinan Shooters Association Inc.

Bloopers like a reporter absentmindedly pointing the gun at a range officer, or another flirtatiously asking the range officer to load the magazine as required during the competition ending up with a penalty, or one refusing to wear protective glasses as the shooter so she can see the target better, and one reporter pleading with the range officer not to leave her because “I don’t know what to do” gave spectators a lot to laugh at and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle at the range.

One lady reporter who had no intention of shooting at anything was refreshing her make-up when she was suddenly called to try her hand at shooting. “What?” she shrieked and resisted but nonetheless ended up holding the gun after the rest of the group refused to see her get away with it. Ha ha ha.

Adjudged over-all champion was Czarina de Vera (landscape artist). Other winners were Audrey Hidalgo of dwPR, production division champion; May Viray (ABS-CBN North Central Luzon, first runner-up; PO1 Melania Galapia (Dagupan City Police Station), second runner-up; PO1 Shirley Bibat (Binmaley Police Station), third runner-up; PO1 Jemmallete Erfelo (DCPS), fourth runner-up; and PO1 Jean Agra (DCPS), standard division champion. All the winners received trophies.

Chief Range Officer was Senior Insp. Ferdinand de Asis, police chief of San Jacinto Police Station, assisted by Range Officers SPO4 Rudy Navarro (DCPS), SPO3 Noel Melchor and SPO3 Jess Galvez both from the Firearms, Explosives, Security Agencies & Guards Supervision Section of the provincial police office.

 Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, Ilocos police regional director, came to watch the competition and obviously enjoyed himself immensely as well.

“You’re not only good writers and broadcasters but also potential shooters,”

Bataoil said, noting the Alpha shoots by the lady reporters. He said it was a good prelude to a bigger shootfest he is planning region wide for policewomen and other ladies from other sectors sometime February next year.

Incidentally, the fun shoot had nothing to do with some newsmen’s clamor to arm themselves in the wake of the series of media killings in the country.

The proceeds of the fun shoot will be for a charity work in a barangay in San Manuel town this province this Christmas.

So, the next time you see female reporters around, be careful. They’re now ready to fight and shoot!

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/business-log/)

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