NPC disowns candidate nabbed for gun violation

TARLAC CITY — The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) here has vehemently disowned a mayoralty candidate in the province who, along with his three supporters, was nabbed Monday by police authorities for purportedly plotting "violent actions."

In a statement, the local NPC leadership here said that Benjamin Tesoro, a mayoralty candidate in the northernmost town of San Manuel, is not included in its list of candidates.

An earlier report by the regional office of the Philippine Information Agency in Pampanga identified Tesoro as an NPC candidate.

But records at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here showed that Tesoro is an independent candidate challenging the re-election bid of incumbent San Manuel mayor Reynaldo Malonzo, who happens to be running under the NPC.

Tesoro was arrested inside the village hall of Barangay San Vicente in San Manuel by policemen after he and three of his supporters, Edgar Laurel, Eduardo Diza and Jose Diza, were allegedly planning to carry out violence if he lose in the the polls.

Seized from them were a M-1 carbine, two 12-gauge shotguns, an improvised pistol and a homemade revolver.