Village chief nabbed for guns

MANILA, Philippines – Police raided the house of a village chief and seized several high-powered firearms and ammunition in Cavite on Thursday.

The raid on the house of Dennis John Bautista, 42, was part of the efforts of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to account for loose firearms and make the 2016 elections peaceful and orderly, according to Senior Superintendent Ronald Lee, chief of CIDG-National Capital Region (NCR).

Lee said Bautista, chairman of Barangay Medicion 2-C in Imus, failed to show documents for the firearms, prompting the raiding team to arrest him.

The raid was based on a warrant issued by Judge Agripino Morga of the San Pablo City Regional Trial Court.

Seized from Bautista were several pistols, rifles and assorted bullets.

The raid was conducted in the presence of village councilmen Numeriano Aratan and Riciel Bella, and the commander of a nearby police precinct.

Bautista is detained at the CIDG-NCR office at Camp Crame.