Firearms, ammo seized

ASSORTED firearms and ammunition were seized in an abandoned vehicle of a candidate running for mayor in Abra, while three individuals were separately arrested for illegal possession of firearms.

Combined personnel of Tayum Municipal Police Station, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Abra, Regional Legal Office and 1501st Maneuver Force Company, Regional Mobile Force Brigade (RMFB) 15, and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) implemented the search warrant against Jose Marie Mailed Brillentes, 27, mayoralty candidate of Tayum, Abra for illegal firearms possession on April 26.

Seized during the operation were three 5.56 rifles, four caliber .45 pistols, 175 ammunition for assorted firearms, seven assorted long and short magazines, one sling bag containing several identification cards and cash, and a cellular phone.

All pieces of evidence were found in an abandoned pick-up truck parked in Sitio An-anaao, Barangay Budac, Tayum, Abra.

Brillentes, subject of the search warrant for violation of Republic Act 10591 and violation of a Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution, was not present during the implementation of the search. He is now a subject for a manhunt operation.

The seized items are now under the custody of authorities for documentation and proper disposition.

Police Brigadier General Israel Ephraim Dickson, director of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Cordillera, said authorities will continue to conduct their anti-loose firearms drive in the region especially this election period to thwart violence.

“The proliferation of loose firearms poses a threat to the peace and order situation in the region. I am urging you our police force to conduct a sustained drive against loose firearms especially now that the election period is at its peak,” added Dickson.

In Ifugao province, joint personnel of Lagawe Municipal Police Station, Intelligence personnel of Ifugao Police Provincial Office, and CIDG arrested Cosme Aguihao, 29, in Cuta, Lagawe in the early morning of April 29.

Confiscated from Aguihao was a magnum .357 loaded with seven ammunition.

Another suspect, identified as Edwin Ramirez, 26, a resident of Barangay Balacbac, Baguio City, was apprehended April 28, while Victor Tiwang Macaiba, 48, a resident of Barangay Romualdez, Rizal, Kalinga, was accosted in the afternoon of April 27.

Both were arrested in their respective residences by virtue of warrants of arrest for violation of RA 10591, also known as Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Judge Ethelwolda Jaravata of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 32 in Agoo, La Union recommended a bail bond of P80,000 for Ramirez, while Judge Jerson Angog of RTC Branch 25 in Bulanao, Tabuk City, Kalinga recommended a P120,000 bail bond for Macaiba.

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