Monday, July 09, 2007 10 men nabbed, 13 guns seized in Abra checkpoint By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
TEN suspected partisan armed group members were arrested while an assortment of over a dozen high-powered assault rifles and a cache of ammunition were seized after a government-owned dump truck was intercepted by Dolores police Abra over the weekend.
Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales, director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in the Cordillera, said the operation was in response to the call of newly-installed Governor Eustaquio Bersamin for the restoration of peace and order in Abra.
Among those arrested were three persons listed in the private armed groups (PAG) watch-list in the province were Joel Billedo Zapata, 30, a resident of Tapayen, Alaoa, Tineg, Abra, who is wanted for arson; Joshue Baula Zapata, 33, single, another resident of Alaoa, who is also suspected to be involved in the same case; and Jeffrey Gubing Tingday, 23, one of the alleged respondents in multiple murder charges filed by the heirs of slain Barangay Chairman Edwin Gubing of Lanec, Tineg in September 2005.
The seven other suspects were identified as Dominador Ganao Balucas, 42, a Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) member who resides in Alaoa, Tineg; Ronald dela Cruz Allen, 21, of Tapayen, Alaoa, Tineg; Codien Lanag Bilong, 22, of Alaoa, Tineg; Joel Domingo Sulian, 32, of Pang-ot, Nagba, Lagayan, Abra; Celeno Begnalen aka Totong, 50, of Caganayan, Tineg, Abra; Romulo Bayed Inon, 39, a municipal employee of Tineg who lives in Caganayan, Tineg, Abra; and Marivic Igoy Badili, 23, another resident of Caganayan, Tineg, Abra.
Confiscated from them were eight M14 rifles, five M16s and eight ammunition magazine assemblies for M14, 129 live M14 bullets, three Icom IC-V8 2-way transceiver radios and one Icom charger.
Composing the PNP Task Force Abra arresting team were joint personnel from the PNP Special Action Force 22nd Company, the Abra Provincial Police Office Intelligence & Investigation Branch, the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Abra field office, the PNP Intelligence Group 14, the PRO-Cordillera Intelligence & Investigation Division, the 1601st Provincial Police Mobile Group of Abra and the Military Intelligence Group 1 of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
"(Task Force Abra) scored its first victory with the arrest of (these) 10 suspected members of a partisan armed group allegedly maintained by a political figure in the province, and the confiscation of five M16 and eight M14 rifles," Gonzales said.
He added the suspects and firearms were on board a dump truck owned by the municipal government of Dolores when they were intercepted at a checkpoint set up in Talogtog, Dolores.
Gonzales said the checkpoint was part of a joint Impact Project Kalawit, which was formulated in response to reports received about the presence of armed men attending the wake of the late Brenda Crisologo at Nalbuan, Baay-Licuan, Abra on July 1.
It may be recalled in earlier reports that Crisologo succumbed to gunshot wounds in St. Luke's Hospital, after being shot by an alleged supporter of an opposing candidate last May 17.
The suspects were immediately held when they failed to present any necessary documents to possess and carry said firearms.
The suspects, firearms and intercepted vehicle were all brought to Abra PPO for proper disposition.
