Punchline
Vintage Alfie and shotgun supplier react
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
IN the spirit of fairness, and respecting their ‘right of reply’, I’m giving way to the two letter reactions to my column last week. I am withholding comment to give them their due. I’ll give my reaction next issue.
The first is from my good friend BM Alfie Bince, the other from P.B. Dionisio & Co. Inc., the shotgun supplier.
A) My dear Ermin,
I write to you on a matter of personal privilege.
Your Punchline column of October 12, 2008 makes me feel sad and uneasy over some misconceptions which I would like to straighten outin this letter of mine.
1. I am still the “vintage Alfie” but not the “lowly lapdog” as you wrote, for anyone including Governor Espino. My values and principles are still intact and alive. If I defended the provincial shotgun program, I did so in the honest belief that project is legal and helpful in the maintenance of peace and order in our barangays;
2. I did not “threaten mayors” in my privilege speech, last Monday. I only singled out our friend Mayor Hernani Braganza of Alaminos City because of unimpeachable information alluding to him requiring his Punong Barangays in his City to return the shotguns or give back to the city government the patrol cars given to them. I said that if this threat is true, this may constitute “abuse of authority,”
3. If sometimes, I declare support to Gov. Espino, it is because his program of governance, particularly in the field of infrastructure, health and agriculture deserves appreciation. If it benefits his personality that is a matter of effect and consequence;
4. I am amazed at your mathematical acumen in claiming that out of the P30M appropriation, some people in the Capitol including Members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan shared and pocketed P13.9M . If there are competent and admissible evidence to prove your allegation, I challenge and ask you to name NAMES. On my part, I hereby state in the strongest possible words available that I have nothing to do with the mechanics in the financial aspect of the purchase. My participation was limited to the approval of the appropriation for the purchase.
I have served as Board Member for seventeen (17) years. Despite meager resources, I was reelected many times and during all of those years, my humble name was never dragged into financial corruption. Now that I am in the twilight years of my political career, I would not dare tarnish it with corruption.
As I said, if such evidence of corruption is available and not hearsay, name those people involved and be assured that I will join you in denouncing and even to the extent of helping you prosecute them before the courts of justice.
I trust that this explanation merits a space in your prestigious Sunday Punch. My warm personal regards,
Yours truly,
ALFONSO C. BINCE, JR.
***
B). Dear Mr. Garcia:
This has reference to your October 12 – 18 edition of the Sunday Punch on the purchase of shotguns by the Pangasinan Province. Since we sold the shotguns to them, we felt responsible to respond to your column to allay any misconception that an overprice was involved in the transaction.
The shotguns were ordered from the factory in Turkey with a special engraving on the receiver with the Pangasinan logo and marking “Property of Pangasinan Province”. Added features of the shotgun include a ventilated rib barrel and fiber optic, with an eight round capacity. Since this was a special order, our selling price was P20,285.71 inclusive of license fees paid to the Firearms & Explosives Division and our processing fees, or a total of P28,400,000.00 for the 1,400 shotguns.
We are proud of the fact that the Akkar shotgun passed the rigid test and evaluation of the Philippine National Police and assure the Pangasinan government that these are the same quality shotguns they now have in their possession, backed up by our after sales service, supplying labor and parts whenever needed, as has been our policy in our over 62 years in the business.
If you should have other doubts or concerns, we shall be more than happy to respond to them.
Very truly yours,
P. B. DIONISIO & CO., INC.
By:
NEREO S. DIONISIO, MNSA
President
***
THE BUCK STOPPED THERE, NOT HERE. The impromptu presscon of Guv Spines in Alaminos City was as interesting as it was revealing particularly when he responded to questions about his ‘shotgun-for-barangay chairmen’ program.
The local media saw in his statements and body language that he just about had it with the controversy surrounding it to a point where he began to contradict his earlier official pronouncements.
The biggest surprise that I’m sure befuddled his own shotgun-team was his claim out of the blue that it was the provincial police, not his office, that distributed the shotguns to the kapitans! Oh boy! He said the guns were turned over to the police and it was the latter that took care of issuing these to the kapitans, pointing out that his only role in the whole brouhaha was to provide the shotguns. Oh boy!
Someone in the Capitol ought to remind our action-man Guv that it was he, not Sr. Supt. Isagani Nerez, the former provincial director at the time, who made certain that pictures of him personally handing the first set of shotguns to some eager kapitans whom he called for the event. He also ought to be reminded that he had defined the role of the police simply as the monitoring body as he emphatically pointed out that it was his office that was issuing the ‘memorandum receipts’ to the kapitans which was logical since the firearms are owned by the local government.
But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt that, indeed, it was the police that had the responsibility of distributing the cheap shotguns. It’d help shore up the credibility of Guv Spines if our new provincial director, Sr. Supt Percival Barba, can produce the documents showing the kapitans received their shotguns from the police.
But a word of caution for Mr. Barba is but fair. If he dares show a document proving that it was his office, not his idol Guv, that had a direct hand in the distribution and issuance of the shotguns, it will not only make his predecessor and himself legally liable but all the town police chiefs accountable as well if it’s finally determined that a provision of the firearms law has been violated. PNP chief Jess Verzosa promised to intervene if the law is violated and I believe the process of determining a violation is in the offing.
The shotguns have become the proverbial hot potato and it’s been passed on by Guv Spines! Pity the fall guys made to hold it last! Oh boy!
(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)
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