PNP mulls probe, gun raps vs defiant, pistol-packing Bedol

Maguindanao poll supervisor Lintang Bedol now faces an investigation and possible criminal charges from the Philippine National Police (PNP) after being interviewed on television with a pistol to his waist and following his admission that he owned a a cache of firearms. Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police chief for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said his men will now check if Bedol's .45-cal. pistol and some two dozen other guns carry necessary permits. "We will check but as far as I know he is authorized to carry his .45-cal. pistol. But we'll have to check the other firearms he claims to have," Goltiao said in Filipino during an interview on dzRH radio Tuesday. Amid a heavy downpour, a gun-toting Bedol was interviewed at a subdivision in Cotabato City. He claimed that the .45-cal. pistol, three other handguns and about 20 baby Armalite rifles were important to defend himself in his home province of Maguindanao. Goltiao said this claim has prompted his office to check with the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office if Bedol has the licenses for the firearms. "Now that the election period is over the ARMM, the Comelec has no more say on matters involving the carrying of firearms. We can investigate him now," he said. As this developed, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it would rather wait for Bedol to surface to air his side instead of immediately putting the clamps on him. "You cannot just hang him. Of course you should give him time to explain," Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos said in Filipino on dzXL radio. Last weekend, Abalos said he is giving Bedol a three-day extension to air his side on the controversy involving the loss of election documents in his office. However, Abalos said the Comelec has lined up charges against Bedol, including infidelity in the custody of documents, which he said carries the penalty of dismissal. Bedol had previously claimed that municipal certificates of canvass (COCs), the source document for the provincial COCs, were stolen from his office on May 29. During his interview, Bedol insisted that he was not hiding from the Comelec. "No, I'm not hiding. Is there a person who could hide while he is reporting for work daily? I don’t think so. I have no to reason to hide, no case was filed against me, I'm not wanted by the law," he said in Filipino. He added that, "No one’s calling me, nobody. I haven't had any missed calls. But I'm just here … it's too expensive to go abroad." Bedol maintained that he cannot be faulted over the loss of the municipal COCs. Opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III has questioned before the Supreme Court the results of the Maguindanao elections. The Comelec's Task Force Maguindanao recommended Monday to the Comelec en banc the filing of charges of infidelity in the custody of public documents or Section 2 Chapter 5 of the Revised Penal Code, particularly article 226 pertaining to "removal, concealment or destruction of documents." - GMANews.TV