5 men on board gov’t car nabbed in checkpoint with guns, ammos
Five suspected partisan armed group (PAG) members were arrested for possessing assorted guns and ammunitions in a checkpoint Tuesday afternoon at Brgy. Leon, Laua-an, Antique.
Nabbed were Ricaredo Sarona, 55, of Brgy. Intao, Laua-an; Robert Rubido, 24, of Esparar, Barbaza, Antique; Renato Tacuyan, 47, of Dumarao, Capiz; Eduardo Cañete, 42, a native of Leon, Iloilo and Jay Rubido, 33, of Poblacion, Laua-an, Antique.
Sarona, the vehicle driver, is a casual employee of the Liga ng Barangay of Laua-an while a Cañete is a CAFGU auxiliary assigned at the 14th Capiz CAA.
The suspects’ arrest came after members of the Antique Provincial Public Safety Management Company (APPSMC) led y Insp. Ciriaco Esquilarga received a text message about the presence of unidentified armed on board a pick up with red plate at Brgy. Leon, Laua-an.
In coordination with Laua-an Police Station and Bugasong PNP, a checkpoint was set up and when they flagged down the vehicle, they saw in plain view the butt of M-16 armalite rifle protruding from sack.
Reports from the Antique Provincial Police Office (APPO) said that a search was conducted that led to the recoveries of several guns and ammunitions.
Seized were an M-16 armalite rilfle (Elisco), a caliber 30 Winchester/Browning automatic rifle/bar, a Rugger Mini-14 Cal. 223, and a homemade caliber .38 revolver.
The recoveries also included four long magazines of M-16 armalite rifle, 6 magazines of caliber 30, magazine of Rugger Mini-14 Caliber .223, 154 live ammunitions of M-16 armalite rifle, 129. Live Amunitions of Cal. 30; 5 live ammunitions of caliber .38 revolver, a 16-inch knife, a military backpack, bandolier, 2 hammocks; and a sack.
Meanwhile, APPO acting director Senior Supt. Ruperto Floro believed that the operation was done accordingly.
“Ginhambalan nila ang driver nga kung pwede buksan because it is a government vehicle. That is open to public scrutiny kag ang gapamangkot is also from the government agency, pulis pa. They refused to open their vehicle for the police to further confirm kung ano to ang ga-protrude sa sako,” he claimed.
The protruding butt of the armalite rifle, Floro claimed, was seen after policemen peeped through the non-tinted window of the pick-up, he added.
Private army?
The five suspects, meanwhile, refused to air their side.
Sarona, who only admitted that he is an employee of the Liga ng mga Barangay, claimed that he has no knowledge about the guns.
Floro said that incumbent Mayor Aser Baladjay, who seeks re-election, was connected to the arrest because the vehicle belongs to the local government unit of Lawa-an.
As it is, the APP chief said that it is not farfetched that they netted members of the private army.
“On how to categorize a partisan armed group. Siguro pwede man sila makasulod because sobra man sila sa tatlo and they were armed with unlicensed firearm,” he added.
When asked if Baladjay would also be probed, “Yes, siguro, we will do that. But it depends on the result of the investigation,” Floro claimed.
No confirmation was made if Baladjay has any connection with the group.
It was gathered that Laua-an is also included in the election watchlist of areas because of an election-related violent incident that happened during the 2007 polls.
Laua-an was on record because of the death of Oscar Trabucon, one of three fatalities in the 2007 polls in Western Visayas.
