Lawmakers focus on buyer of 1,004 missing rifles

MANILA, Philippines - The inquiry of the House of Representatives into the case of the missing high-powered firearms is shifting to the owner of a private security firm who reportedly bought the rifles and handed them over to New People’s Army rebels in Mindanao.

At the same time, lawmakers strongly warned the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) against preempting the congressional investigation.

Background check

Negros Occidental Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer, chairman of the House committee on public order and safety, said the panel is digging deeper into the background of Isidro Lozada, owner of Caraga Security Agency that reportedly purchased 1,004 AK-47 rifles from a legitimate firearms importer in 23 transactions in a span of a few years.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Ferrer and other lawmakers castigated PNP-CIDG chief Director Benjamin Magalong for apparently treating Lozada with kid gloves while “publicly and prematurely” accusing several police officials as responsible for the missing rifles that reportedly fell into the hands of the NPA.

Lozada has failed to appear in the last three hearings on the case.

“Why did the CIDG accept an unsigned affidavit from Lozada? Why are they trying to pin down police officials when this is a private transaction?” Ferrer said even as he asked why the PNP leadership failed to immediately revoke the license of the security agency when the matter came to light.

He said the CIDG also appeared to be content with the security agency owner’s additional “verbal” explanations on the matter.

Hiding the truth?

Other committee members said Magalong’s premature identification of the senior PNP officers as responsible for the missing rifles seemed a deliberate attempt either to lead the panel towards the conclusions of the CIDG’s own investigation or to hide the truth on other matters concerning the firearms issue.

Ferrer said while there were reports that the military has recovered some AK-47s in encounters with the NPA, the number of the firearms was few and most likely stolen from their rebels’ raids of mining firms and security agencies in Mindanao.

Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, vice chairman of the panel and a former PNP official, earlier expressed doubts the assault rifles were bought by the NPA as they cost P52 million in total.

The CIDG backtracked on its earlier claim that 19 active and retired PNP officials will be charged for the missing firearms, including Central Luzon regional director Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta.

Petrasanta, after the Wednesday hearing, told reporters that he and the others are confident they will be cleared even as their families were hurt by the controversy.

Petrasanta, who used to head the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office, which handles the registration of guns in the country, told reporters covering  the Independence Day celebration at the Barasoain Church in Bulacan yesterday that he will answer the allegation in the proper forum. – Paolo Romero, Dino Balabo