Misamis Mayor, bodyguards arrested in Batangas for violating gun ban

A town mayor of Misamis Occidental province and four of his bodyguards were arrested in Batangas province on Sunday after yielding high-powered firearms at a checkpoint. Police took into custody Plaridel town Mayor Ernie Clarete and his bodyguards after they failed to account for the firearms and ammunition, radio dzBB reported. Police and Coast Guard teams set up the checkpoint after receiving a tip that a white Ford Everest sport-utility vehicle (SUV) was to be used to smuggle firearms from Mindoro to the Visayas. The police intercepted the white SUV at Batangas Pier at about 10 a.m. Sunday. Coast Guard Batangas station chief Lt. Cmdr. Troy Cornelio said his men, acting on a tip, monitored the white SUV after it boarded the MV Baleno-3 in Calapan, Mindoro. Upon the roll-on-roll-off vessel’s arrival in Batangas Port, Coast Guard and police personnel searched the vehicle. In his report posted on the Coast Guard website (www.coastguard.gov.ph) Monday, Cornelio said K-9 units found a baby Armalite, two cal-.45 pistols, and a bandolier. “Mayor Clarete failed to present gun ban exemptions from the Commission on Election for the firearms and he was brought over to the PNP Maritime Groups headquarters for investigation," Cornelio said. The mayor and his bodyguards may face charges for violating the election gun ban, which is still in effect until June 9, police said. Clarete declined to comment on his arrest, the dzBB report added. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV