Bayawan City, Negros Oriental cache of guns, ammo seized in raid

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Police arrested and charged a man criminally following a raid recently in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental that yielded a cache of loose firearms and ammunition.

Arrested last Friday in a raid at his residence was one Cristituto Muñoz, alias Virgilio Cristobal and “Virgel”, 47, married, a carpenter and who had moved to Bayawan City from Canlaon City.

According to Chief Insp. Teddy Picardal, Bayawan City Police chief, his men swooped down on Muñoz at his residence at the city’s sitio Biyaas in Brgy. Minoba by virtue of a search warrant issued by Judge Ananson Jayme of the Regional Trial Court Branch 63-Bayawan City, dated May 17, 2012.

The police search yielded two shotguns, a .45-caliber handgun, a .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver, 20 rounds of live ammunition for a shotgun, 43 rounds of.45-caliber ammunition, a .45-caliber magazine,14 rounds of .38-caliber ammunition, 23 rounds for M-16 caliber rifle, 10 rounds of carbine ammunition, eight rounds for M-14 rifle, 13 rounds for .30-caliber ammunition, 20 rounds for 12-gauge shotgun and two improvised holsters.

The search was witnessed by Minoba Barangay Chairman Warlito Magdasal, and Councilman Marcelo Maderal.

Picardal said Muñoz was charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions and is now detained at the Bayawan City Police station’s lock-up cell.

Investigators, with the help of the Philippine Army, have been looking deeper into the suspect’s background to determine whether he had a previous criminal record, Picardal said.

Muñoz claimed he moved to Bayawan City from Canlaon City and had used some aliases after he had crossed somebody in that northern city. The suspect has been uncooperative with police investigators since his arrest, said Picardal. (FREEMAN)