PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Policemen in the southern town of Narra on Tuesday arrested a farmer for illegally manufacturing “paltik” guns.
Senior Superintendent Gabriel Lopez, director of the Palawan Provincial Police Office (PPO), on Wednesday said their personnel in Narra apprehended a certain Elpedio Cachero, 45, of Barangay Malinao after serving a search warrant and discovered illegal operation of a makeshift “paltik”-manufacturing shop.
“There was a search warrant for firearms issued by the court against him. When our police personnel served it to his house, they discovered his workplace for the paltik, and good thing he surrendered without incident,” he said.
Paltik is a homemade gun produced out of scrap metals and angle irons readily available in hardware stores.
The municipal police team headed by Chief Inspector Jeffrey Abonales confiscated three pieces of wood rifle bolts with trigger housings, a .22 caliber rifle already with trigger, two pieces improvised .22 caliber rifles, a .45 handgun, an unserviceable .38 revolver, 275 rounds of 5.56 live ammunition, 21 pieces of short metal magazines of 5.56 ammunition, and other paraphernalia that had allegedly been used for homemade gun fabrication.
The search warrant was issued by Palawan Regional Trial Court (RTC) Acting Executive Judge Jocelyn Sundiang Dilig against Cachero for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the “Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act”, said Lopez.
Lopez said with the quantity of the confiscation, they are now investigating if the “paltik” guns are going to be used in the barangay and youth polls on May 14.
“We are still investigating, particularly because it’s election season and there is a gun ban.
Their investigation will include looking into the background of Cachero to determine if he is linked to any of the privately armed groups or PAGs in the province.
Since the launching of the gun ban for the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election, they have already confiscated an estimated 21 firearms that are unlicensed and with expired registrations, he added.
It can be noted that on April 25, Palawan PNP’s door-to-door “Oplan Katok” already confiscated three loose and 13 voluntarily surrendered firearms in the province.
They do not include the homemade guns surrendered by Cachero as inventory is still being completed and most have not been completely assembled.
The additional five confiscated firearms were from El Nido town also on May 1 under Oplan Paglalansag Omega and Oplan Salikop in relation to the barangay and youth elections, he said. (PNA)
