Using guns for a noble purpose
By Eva C. Visperas
I was not a gun lover. But I am now but not as one may think literally.
Years back, a former boss told me he wanted to give a señorita gun for my protection. I thanked him but said I didn’t want it. I told him my reasons and he understood it.
Perhap he saw me how I enjoyed joining his bodyguards in their practical shooting sessions on two occasions. They taught me the basics of gun-handling and gave me tips, i.e., to remember the man who hurt me while aiming at my target so I can score an “Alpha Alpha.”
When our press club was still alive and active, I remembered how local newsmen gamely joined shoot fests at the Pangasinan PPO. It was fun. It fostered better camaraderie among us. It was a good respite from our tiring work. The Facebook photos posted by some media friends like Cesar Ramirez showed how we enjoyed those precious moments at the range.
Unfortunately, those were not followed by more shoot fests. If there were, I knew there were only two, three of the chosen favorites of some PDs who luckily got to join the “exclusive” shoot fests.
I had some flashbacks when I was invited on June 2 for the Shoot-For-A-Cause project of the Provincial Advisory Group for Police Transformation and Development (PAGPTD) held at the PPPO Firing Range.
To those who haven’t gone to the PPPO compound in Lingayen for a long time, maybe decades past, the place has seen a lot of changes, including its firing range.
During our interview with P/Col Jeff Fanged, he said something that caught my attention and pinched my heart. It was that part of his statement when asked what the project was for, that made me realize that it was for a noble purpose.
Col. Jeff narrated how the 2nd PD’s Cup that they conducted in April had benefited some 16 terminally-ill policemen battling stage 4 cancer.
He said another five direct dependents of policemen in different police stations across the province, also fighting for their dear lives due to the big C, also became beneficiaries of the proceeds from their shoot fest.
The P25,000 cash assistance to each one may not be substantial but it’s a meaningful help especially when one’s finances are depleted, or going kaput. Plus, of course, knowing that some people really care for them, especially in their critical stages in life, makes the assistance more meaningful to the beneficiaries.
Besides, if one needs P5,000 for monthly medication, the financial help will be good for five months, Col. Jeff said.
When one of the political officers of Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos named Ryan Remigio heard what the Pangasinan police under Col. Jeff was doing, he promised to relay to his big boss, what the shoot fest was all about.
Well, on June 24 and 25, a Cong. Sandro Marcos Cup will be held at the PPPO Firing Range whose proceeds will be also given to terminally-ill policemen!
So, allow me to congratulate the men and women of the Pangasinan PNP, and all the workforce and their partners, like the PAGPTD, for supporting the project with a noble purpose.
We were told that there were other noteworthy projects in the past implemented by the PPPO and the PAGPTD, and there will be more to serve the public, even better.
Yan ang ating kapulisan! We are proud of you!
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