LAPU-LAPU City Mayor Paz Radaza said the City Government will provide legal assistance to the two barangay captains arrested for allegedly carrying unlicensed firearms.
Radaza said the firearms confiscated from Subabasbas Barangay Captain Joselito Tibon and Mactan Barangay Captain Evaristo Dihayco Jr. were issued by the City.
The two village chiefs were among the 11 persons arrested when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 raided a firing range in Barangay Subabasbas last Saturday night.
The establishment allegedly used government-issued bullets.
Radaza said all barangay captains are issued by the City with firearms for their protection.
“The City has issued them firearms so that they can use it in maintaining peace and order in their respective barangays. In light also of what happened to (former Agus) barangay captain Joven Lauron who was murdered while in office, it is important that they get protection, too,” she said in a statement.
Firearms
She recalled that when she was a barangay captain of Mactan, she and other barangay captains were also provided with firearms and they would undergo trainings on firearm safety and personal protection in a firing range.
In an interview yesterday, Radaza said she will check the license of the confiscated firearms with the City’s General Services Office.
Detained
She said she visited Tibon and Dihayco yesterday at the NBI 7 office, where they were detained.
“I’ve assigned a lawyer to attend to the case,” she said.