Unlicensed guns seized from Batangas village chief's house

Lawmen seized a high-powered firearm, a pistol and several rounds of ammunition following a raid on a village chief's house in Nasugbu town in Batangas province before dawn Friday. A team from the Batangas police led by Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sauro served a search warrant on Looc village chief Marcus Guevarra, who admitted that the firearms in his house were unlicensed. "So far we have not established his involvement in any crime. But there have been complaints he was keeping firearms in his house. He also admitted the firearms were his," Sauro said in Filipino during an interview on dzRH radio. Among the firearms found during the simultaneous raids on two houses of Guevarra were a 9-mm pistol and a carbine, along with several rounds of ammunition. The raid stemmed from a search warrant issued by Judge Eutiguio Quitain of the Lemery regional trial court-Branch 5. For his part, Guevarra defended keeping the firearms, saying his village is located in an isolated hilly area near the boundary of Batangas and Cavite. "I never denied keeping the firearms. But they can see for themselves the situation in my area, it's a hilly place. Our problem is mainly peace and order, especially involving outsiders," he said. He added that he had applied for a permit for his firearms, but they were never acted upon. He also claimed to have informed the local chief of police about the firearms, at least informally. Guevarra, who faces possible charges of illegal possession of firearms, said he has "no problem" with the raid. "It's just that my area of responsibility is very critical. Our police can see we have a problem in peace and order. I have nothing to fear," he said. - GMANews.TV