Slays in La Union town alarm cops

CAMP FLORENDO, La Union, Philippines  – Prior to the implementation of the total gun ban in January 2013, police officials here agreed that they would recommend to the national headquarters the early suspension of permits to carry firearms in Tubao town and probably in the entire second district of La Union to prevent violence in next year’s midterm polls. 

In a command conference here yesterday, Chief Superintendent Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Region 1 police director, noted the intense situation in Tubao where five people have already been killed: an independent candidate for board member, two barangay officials, a relative of Mayor Dante Garcia who himself survived a recent ambush, and a political supporter. 

La Union is among the three Region 1 provinces tagged as “high-risk” areas in the May 2013 polls. The two others are Pangasinan and Ilocos Sur.