MEMBERS of the Provincial Intelligence Branch and the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office raided the houses of San Francisco, Camotes Mayor Aly Arquillano and Vice Mayor Alfredo Arquillano Jr. in Barangay Poblacion last Thursday morning, April 4.
Armed with a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 10 Judge Leopoldo Cañete, operatives arrested the two officials after firearms and explosives were allegedly found in their homes.
Seized were a .45 pistol, a .22 long rifle and magazine, an AR 15 rifle with an expired license, a grenade and several bullets from a .45 pistol and a 9mm pistol, among others.
Police Captain Alejandro Batobalonos, PDEU head, said they received reports that the two brothers had organized armed groups.
The town is also allegedly home to several hitmen under the protection of the two officials, he said.
When they checked with the Firearms Explosives Office 7, they discovered that several firearms were registered to the Arquillanos and their licenses had not been renewed, he added.
Mayor Aly admitted he owned the .22 rifle, but he didn’t know it was inside his house. He said he had reported it missing and even had an affidavit of loss issued.
The mayor also denied owning the grenade that was allegedly found inside his room.
“Why would I have a grenade in my room? It could have exploded. The people of San Francisco know us. They know what my brother and I have done for the town. They know we serve it faithfully. We hope they continue to support us,” he said in Cebuano.
His brother Vice Mayor Alfredo admitted owning a .45 pistol but he said he turned it over to the town treasurer when its license expired.
The Arquillanos, who are both last-termers, believed politics might have had something to do with their arrest.
In the midterm elections next month, Mayor Aly is running for vice mayor while Vice Mayor Alfredo is running for mayor under the Bakud party of the Duranos.
However, Batobalonos denied their claims.
“How could politics be involved? We’re non-partisan. We didn’t even know who was running in Camotes. We were only doing our job,” he said in Cebuano.
The mayor and the vice mayor will be charged with illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives under Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
No bail will be recommended.
In 2011, the prestigious United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction was given to San Francisco.
Vice Mayor Alfredo, who received the award in Geneva, Switzerland, explained that the town’s “purok system” had propelled it “to become resilient, utilizing indigenous knowledge to disseminate critical information and risk assessment, waste segregation, delivery of health services and related activities at the household level.”
Earlier this month, Mayor Aly was one of three local officials sued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government for failing to activate an anti-drug council.
Meanwhile, Joseph “Ace” Durano, Bakud party president, issued a statement.
He said: “It is what it is. Party stalwarts are being targeted because they are supporting the Magpale-Davide tandem. At this time, our lawyers are assisting Mayor Aly and Vice Mayor Al to ensure their rights to due process are respected... Our lawyers are doing the necessary documentation to address the charges. We believe these are politically motivated to try and create a handicap on the support that the 5th district is giving the Magpale-Davide candidacy. This unfortunate incident will not prevent or diminish the support of our allies. It will further strengthen and solidify our alliances.”
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, a member of Bakud, is running for governor against Third District Rep. Gwen Garcia, while Gov. Hilario Davide III is running for vice governor against Daphne Salimbangon.
Garcia and Salimbangon belong to One Cebu party, which is allied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban. (From AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, PJB, PR)