STA. MARGARITA, Samar — A composite team from the PNP tasked to hunt down suspected members of Private Armed Groups (PAGs) operating in Samar First District early morning yesterday (February 11, 2016) finally get their hands on one of their long-time targets in the village of Bahay, this town.
Armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Alphinor C. Serrano of Tacloban RTC Branch 6, the PNP team arrested Enrique Magbutay Mañas, reportedly the leader of Mañas Group in the PNP PAGs Personality List, when the search team recovered several firearms and explosive device inside his residence.
But aside from Mañas, one Romualdo Casaljay Catalan aka Romy, 56, a farmer and resident of the same village, was likewise arrested when he was seen trying to run out from the target residence.
The search warrant reportedly yielded 1 piece of fragmentation grenade, 1 piece of semi-automatic KG9 rifle, 2 pieces steel magazine, 1 steel magazine with black pouch containing 10 live caliber 9mm ammunition and 6 live ammunition for caliber 38 pistol.
While the body search conducted against Catalan who was reportedly trying to escape from the scene, yielded 1 piece of Caliber 38 pistol with 4 live and 1 used ammunition.
Media man Rufino Arpon and town councilor Hon. Edison Gara were asked to accompany the PNP team to oversee the implementation of said Search Warrant.
Violation of RA 8294, the law governing illegal possession of firearms, was slapped against the two suspects immediately after they were brought to the town’s police station for proper disposition. www.aksyonradyocatbalogan.com
