Pasig pol’s 2 aides arrested on gun raps

MANILA, Philippines - Two aides of a Pasig City councilor, who lost in the vice mayoral race earlier this month, were arrested Tuesday for allegedly illegally carrying guns and ammunition.  

Pablito Dote, 49; and Romeo Diaz were apprehended at their respective residences by Pasig police officers and members of the Eastern Police District intelligence division. Dote and Diaz are political organizers of Councilor Rodrigo Asilo, who admitted his connection to them but denied they are involved in illegal activities, EPD intelligence chief Superintendent Remus Medina said.

The police officers were armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 7 following reports that Dote, Diaz and other aides of Asilo were armed and involved in several harassment cases in Pasig, officials said.

The election-related ban on guns and other weapons, which started in January, will end on June 12.

A .45 caliber pistol with two magazines and 34 bullets; as well as four 9mm bullets and ammunition for a 12-gauge shotgun were confiscated from Dote, police said.

Dote’s wife, Eulalia, presented her husband’s license for the handgun, but investigators are still coordinating with the Philippine National Police (PNP) Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) in Camp Crame to determine its authenticity.

Investigators also asked the PNP crime laboratory to check if the handgun matches bullets recovered from crime scenes in Pasig and other areas of eastern Metro Manila.

Medina said they will file illegal possession of ammunition against Dote before the Pasig prosecutor’s office while Diaz will be released pending further investigation.