Noy adviser on gun case: It's up to PNP

MANILA, Philippines - Embattled Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Ronald Llamas assured the public yesterday that he will leave it up to the police to file criminal charges against his two staff members for illegal possession of firearms.

Llamas had already ordered the dismissal of his two staff members, identified as Joey Valderama Tecson and John Brilliant Alarcon, who were using his vehicle when it figured in an accident along Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City last Friday.

“It really depends on the police, on the outcome of the investigation. They can file the charges,” he said.

He said he would leave it up to the police to determine if his two aides were in custody of guns not registered under their names, which makes them liable for illegal possession of firearms.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome had ordered an investigation on the incident after video footage showed an AK-47 assault rifle, owned by Llamas, inside the Cabinet member’s car.   

At a press briefing in Malacañang shortly after his arrival from Geneva, Switzerland where he attended the executive meeting of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Llamas admitted owning five firearms – three short (handguns) and two long (an AK-47 rifle and M-16 rifle) – all of which he said were registered under his name, and covered by permit to carry firearms outside of residence.

A gun license allows a person to own a gun. To take it outside his home, he needs a “permit to carry firearm outside residence.” Without the permit, the person is liable for illegal gun possession.

Llamas claimed ownership of the newly acquired P30,000 Czechoslovakian-made AK-47 that was found in his staff’s possession, saying he needed it for his and his family’s protection from “credible threats” he had been receiving.

He acknowledged to a certain degree that he might have been at fault for the discovery of the fiream that was found in the custody of his aides Tecson and Alarcon.

Llamas said he had earlier instructed his two aides to leave the firearms at his home.

“They used it without authorization. I have already ordered both staff members dismissed. The formal process for their dismissal has already been initiated upon my instructions, and is currently underway,” Llamas said of the administrative sanctions.

Llamas said the handguns and M-16 rifle have been with him for quite some time, but the AK-47 rifle was acquired in June, and the processing for his permit to carry outside of residence took until July.

PNP chief Bartolome said he would wait for the result of the investigation.

“Initially, it appears that the firearm was not used in committing crime or violence and therefore there’s good faith,” he said.

Bartolome said if the involved persons used the firearm in committing violence or crime, it would be a different matter and will have an immediate conclusion.

Reports showed that Junnel Tenorio, driver of the truck that collided with Llamas’ black Mitsubishi Montero sport utility vehicle with license plate 6-OPA (Office of the Presidential Adviser), was driving slowly when the vehicles collided.

Senior Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, deputy chief of the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED), said they would ask Llamas to explain the circumstances involving his bodyguards and his AK-47 rifle.

“We will wait for the arrival of the owner of the firearms and his explanation from which we will determine whether there was negligence,” Petrasanta said.

Under PNP rules, the police could revoke a person’s license to possess a firearm if he or she violated the regulation of firearms, since owning a gun or guns is not a right but a privilege.

Petransanta assured the people that there would be no special treatment extended to Llamas since the PNP will enforce the law “without fear or favor.”

When asked why Llamas left the high-powered firearms with his bodyguards when regulations provided that only the owner must keep his or her gun, Petrasanta said Tecson and Alarcon were staff and bodyguards of Llamas and therefore they had access to the officials’ belongings.

A check with the FED showed that Tecson has a registered Glock 9mm pistol with serial number AAAB348 with license validity until May 29, 2015.

Alarcon has no registered firearm under his name, the FED reported.

Bartolome said that based on information, Llamas had instructed his bodyguards to bring his vehicle and firearm to his house while he was on official mission abroad.

The bodyguards apparently ignored the instruction.

The PNP chief also justified the bodyguards’ action of getting the firearms out of the vehicle after the accident, saying the bodyguards merely secured the important things inside the vehicle. This, however, was apparently against the regulations in preserving evidence in a crime scene.

Llamas also justified the arrival of his other staffers on board a Hyundai Starex van that retrieved the AK-47 rifle and bulletproof vests from his Mitsubishi Montero, noting that bystanders might have access to them in the accident site.

“They immediately went there to secure bags and other things since they did not know what will happen. There were many people that have converged in the area and the vicinity of the vehicle was not restricted,” he reasoned out.

Llamas assured the public that he would not use his position to influence the police.

“I would like to emphasize and reiterate that there has been no attempt by anyone to withhold information about the incident, either from the police, media, or the public, or to allow those found responsible to escape culpability for their actions,” he said.

“Neither I, nor my office, will ask for or countenance special treatment in this regard. We remain fully committed to the principles of transparency and public accountability that the President has defined his administration by,” Llamas added.

Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent George Regis said there was irregularity in the removal of the AK-47 from the car of Llamas.

Regis told ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda that the people who retrieved the AK-47 rifle from the Mitsubishi Montero should have waited for the traffic police to arrive at the scene.

Regis said he would recommend the cancellation of the firearm license issued to Llamas’ bodyguard Tecson, who reportedly owns a Glock 9mm pistol.

Regis said Tecson could have been in possession of other firearms that were not registered under his name when the accident happened.

Credible threats

Llamas claimed that he had received threats sometime April and May this year, the most serious of which was the monitoring or casing of his daughters, both in school and at his home in Project 7, Quezon City, forcing him to acquire more guns and request for police backup.

“There are credible threats, and the casing was the most intense because physically they are within the vicinity of the house. The usual are text messages, but this one is scary since they are casing you while you fetch your kid from school,” Llamas said.

Heading a party-list political party (Akbayan) before he joined government may have also been a factor, especially since he had been involved in anti-corruption issues that may have stepped on the toes of officials from the previous Arroyo administration.

Meanwhile, lawyer Raul Lambino, legal spokesman for former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, assailed Malacañang for its double standard in absolving Llamas from any culpability in the firearms incident while rushing to file charges against the former leader.

Lambino urged Malacañang not to whitewash the investigation.

“We can clearly see how this administration deals with this case and favor its allies by absolving them or covering up their misdeeds,” Lambino told reporters.

He said the Palace should explain why the incident was not immediately investigated and why it had to wait for the return of Llamas from an overseas trip.

Lambino said the actuations of administration officials in the incident were in stark contrast with its moves when a member of the Arroyo family or one of its allies were the ones involved in a misdemeanor.

“If a member of the Arroyos is involved in an alleged crime, they immediately talk about jail time and charges are filed at once. If allies are involved, they are absolved,” he said.

Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said it was not enough that Llamas fired his bodyguards involved in the incident.

ACT Teachers’ party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said President Aquino claims to be angry against “wang-wang” or siren mentality “but his political adviser has bang-bang mentality.”

Tinio was referring to the policy of Aquino against government officials using sirens to get through traffic jams.

AK-47 rifle is simple and practical

Llamas said the AK-47 rifle is a combination of simplicity and capacity.

“It’s the right choice. And it’s very practical to use, practical than most long firearms,” he told reporters at Malacañang.

He also said that his training in high school and college – Citizen Army Training and ROTC – provided and equipped him with the “competence” to handle high-powered firearms.

He said he has not yet used the AK-47 rifle but during ROTC he used the M-14 and M-16 rifles during training, “so I had a little training in college.”

He said the AK-47 could match the other high-powered guns of people who might ambush him, and that in case of an ambush, short firearms might not be enough.

He said cited the postponement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections, the investigation of corruption especially from the previous government, and many other issues where the Office for Political Affairs was involved.

Llamas said he joined President Aquino, who is a practical shooting aficionado, once or twice in his shooting practice.

When asked of his skill or competency level with regard to shooting, with 10 being the highest, he said he is “pasang awa,” maybe a six or seven. With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Paolo Romero, Reinir Padua