CATBALOGAN, Samar
– The elements of the
Tagapul-an municipal police station in Samar seized 6 high powered
firearms and 2 short firearms Thursday evening, April 19, in a chance
encounter with a passenger motorboat marked “Charina” plying the Tagapul-an to Calbayog City route in Brgy Manlangit, Tagapul-an,
Samar.
Police report said
that while the police team was responding to a shooting incident in
the said barangay led by SPO4 Diogenes Balais, acting chief of police
of Tagapul-an municipal police station, and while the said responding
police team were about to left the area on board a pumpboat in order
to escort the wounded victims from the shooting incident, somebody
shouted to invite the attention of the responding team that the
suspect was fleeing towards the arriving passenger motorboat “Charina”
and boarded said motorboat.
The report added that
the police team saw some of the crew on board armed with firearms and
while introducing themselves as policemen, immediately the lights of
the said motorboat were turned off. The policemen immediately boarded
with flashlights and were able to see Adriano Picorro, re-electionist
Sangguniang Bayan member of Tagapul-an town under the LP/Lakas-CMD
party carrying a KG99 cal. 9mm machine pistol, thus, the team ordered
them to drop their firearms and then followed by search which yielded
other firearm from the possession of Charlie Picorro, ABC president of
Tagapul-an and vice-mayoralty candidate under the LP/Lakas-CMD party,
a cal .45 pistol with serial no. 359758 loaded with magazine and seven
(7) live ammunitions.
The search likewise
resulted to the confiscation from the motorboat of one (1) M16
armalite rifle with serial no. 445501, two (2) US carbines cal. 30 M1
with defaced serial number, one (1) cal .357 magnum with defaced
serial number, one (1) Ingram cal. 9mm machine pistol bearing serial
no. 678952, one (1) cal. M1 Garrand rifle with defaced serial number,
all loaded with magazine and ammunitions.
The other arrested
persons on board the motorboat Charina were identified as Noel
Sulibaga, Noel Picorro, Henry Basas, Filmor Basas, Arnel Rojas,
Charlot Picorro, Michael Maloloy-on, Romulo Sanchez, Arturo Francisco,
Michael Lucero, Carlito Lucero, Rodel Villa, Orlando Sarco and Jurry
Mahinay. Subject persons, confiscated firearms and said motorboat are
presently under the custody of the Samar Provincial Police Office for
proper disposition and appropriate charges are now being prepared for
filing in court.
The arrest and
confiscation in the said incident was in line with the government’s
campaign against Partisan Armed Groups (PAGs) and Loose Firearms in
relation to Comelec resolution no. 7764 (Gun Ban) for the forthcoming
May 14 national and local elections.
