LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Five barangay officials in Abra and two others have voluntarily surrendered their loose firearms to the police stations in their respective towns under the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PROCOR).
Police Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza, Regional Director of PROCOR, on Tuesday identified the barangay officials as Donardo Beroña, 61, of Barangay Poblacion Pilar; Primitiva Madriaga, 57, of Diego, Pidigan; Rogelio Sotelo, 59, of San Isidro; Adorable Biscarra of Barangay Tagaytay, San Juan; and Oscar Pe Benito, 44, of Barangay Tiempo, Tubo, all in Abra.
Beroña, surrendered one unlicensed homemade 12 gauge pistol; Madriaga surrendered one caliber .38 revolver without serial number and ammunition; Sotelo surrendered one homemade caliber .38 revolver with markings “Smith Wesson Special .38″ without serial number and ammunition; Biscarra surrendered one defective caliber .38 revolver without serial number; and Benito surrendered one unlicensed caliber .38 revolver (Paltik) with serial number 9272891 without ammunition.
At the same time, Rodrigo Fabillano Abad, 40, a carpenter of Lagben, Lagangilang town in Abra, surrendered one caliber .38 revolver without serial number and markings to the Lagangilang Municipal Police Station (MPS).
In Benguet, Ruben Dela Cruz Balicdang, 46, an army reservist, a caretaker of a telecommunications company, and a resident of Atok town in Benguet, voluntarily surrendered one caliber .45 without magazine and ammunition.
Carranza said all the surrendered firearms are now in police custody.
The police in the region have been intensifying its campaign against loose firearms by going to different barangays and holding meetings as part of the efforts to make the communities safe, especially with the upcoming barangay elections. (Primo Agatep/PNA)
