DAVAO CITY — The incumbent barangay captain of Pangyan, Calinan District, this city was killed in a shootout with operatives of the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection (CIDG) 11, who were about to implement a search warrant on Sunday morning.
Antonio Guatno, who is running for another term in Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, was suspected of having illegal firearms in his home.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Chief Insp. Milgrace Driz said the CIDG operatives together, with the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 11 and Regional Intelligence Unit 11, implemented the warrant at the residence of Guatno.
When the operatives were about to enter the house, Guatno drew his pistol and pointed it at the police, prompting authorities to shoot Guatno, Driz said.
Guatno was rushed to the Isaac T. Robillo Memorial Hospital but he was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.
Recovered inside the house of Guatno were a caliber .45 pistol loaded with three ammunition and one chamber load; and a 9 mm caliber pistol loaded with 14 live bullets.
Driz, however, clarified that the incident was a legitimate law enforcement operation and not election-related.
A CIDG report said that on May 11, Davao City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Emmanuel Carpio approved the request of the CIDG to search the house of Guatno, who was not a licensed firearm holder based on the records of Firearms and Explosive Office of the Philippine National Police.
Guatno allegedly owned high-powered firearms such as M14, M16, and M14 rifles as well as Uzi submachinegun.
In February, Guatno was also among the drug surrenderers who graduated from the Community-based Rehabilitation Aftercare Program (CBRAP) of the Davao City Anti-illegal Drugs Council. (Armando Fenequito, Jr./PNA)
