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Monday, February 04, 2008
Shootout between soldiers, cops averted
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BAGUIO CITY -- An armed encounter nearly erupted between a group of Army reservists and policemen Saturday night, after soldiers tried to recover a gun that a police team confiscated from one of their companions.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Nick Alarcio, deputy group commander of the Philippine Army (PA) Reserve Command in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions, this may have been because "the presence of (their) armed personnel (may have) caused agitation to the police force who misconstrued such to be a show of provocation from our end."
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Records of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) showed that the situation stemmed from the arrest of Galeon Osog Kamsawen, 33, a City Hall employee and sergeant of the 106th Community Defense Center of the PA Reserve Command. Kamsawen was found to be in possession of a high-powered firearm inside Union Jack Disco at Kilometer 4, Marcos Highway at 9:30 p.m. of January 26.
According to arresting policemen led by Chief Inspector Romulo Luis Danglose, Police Station 10 chief, the gun, seized along with three ammunition magazines and 21 live bullets, was "without pertinent documents" at the time of Kamsawen's arrest.
Danglose said Kamsawen was released to the custody of Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda after his arrest, "pending an investigation of the case."
However, Alarcio said the firearm issued to Kamsawen, as an officer of the PA Reserve Command, was covered by a memorandum receipt and mission order.
He said three days after the incident or on January 29, he instructed Master Sergeant Federico Labiano Jr., their unit's first sergeant, to make proper coordination with the Baguio City police for the recovery of the firearm.
"Notwithstanding the reservist was not without fault, I deemed it proper to recover the firearm from police custody, as the firearm was supported by an MO. Sanctions would (be meted) against such erring personnel at our level (after a proper investigation has been conducted)," Alarcio explained.
He said that as Labiano, escorted by two reservists, was about to proceed to the Police Station 10, a team that had just finished doing rehearsals for the funeral honors or 21-gun salute for departed reservist Marlon Hernando volunteered to escort the group. They all boarded a van, added Alarcio.
Alarcio claimed when the group of Labiano presented themselves to Danglose and requested for the release of the firearm, the police official "was so arrogant and even insulted them" by allegedly saying "let Colonel Alarcio come." Danglose also allegedly referred to the issued MO and said "they are just reservists."
Alarcio said that when he was informed about the seemingly rude reception of the police officer, he instructed Labiano's group to pull out and head back to headquarters.
"While on their way back, the group of Master Sergeant Labiano came across an approaching vehicle with policemen on board. Shortly thereafter, upon arrival at our headquarters (inside the Baguio Athletic Bowl), armed policemen were seen hovering around the vicinity with some posted behind the perimeter fence (or) at close proximity to our headquarters. Aside from this, armed Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) policemen were posted near the gate," Alarcio said.
He said the tension between the two groups only eased when he talked to Senior Superintendent Moises Guevarra, BCPO director, through his mobile phone.
The following day, Alarcio said he and Major Dave Chavarria went to confer with Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin, director of the Cordillera Police Regional Office, "which gave us an opportunity to address issues at hand and to thresh out other concerns that may cause any conflict between the reservists and the police."
"At the conclusion of the talks, it was agreed the reservists should be advised not to resist police authorities should there be similar situations in the future and to leave the matters to be settled between unit commanders," he continued.
Alarcio emphasized that the reservists who went to the Police Station 10 on January 29 had no XCintention whatsoever of harassing police personnel there, but only to amicably request for the release of their group member's confiscated firearm. (ENO/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (February 4, 2008 issue)
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265 families displaced, 1 killed in MILF-police clash