VILLASIS, Pangasinan ? Not one of the shotguns issued by the provincial government to 1,300 village chiefs in the province has been surrendered to the police.

Provincial police director, Senior Supt. Percival Barba, said he had ordered police chiefs to recall and keep the shotguns in the police stations during the election period but so far no gun had been surrendered.

Hernani Braganza, mayor of Alaminos City and one of those opposed to the issuance of shotguns to village chiefs, said police should have ordered the return of the firearms earlier.

?Alaminos is not a war zone and neither is Pangasinan," said Braganza in a press statement.

?In fact, Alaminos is one of the most peaceful places in the province,? said the mayor, who was the first town mayor in Pangasinan to oppose the issuance of the shotguns, worth P30 million.

Alaminos had issued a resolution urging the provincial government to issue the shotguns to policemen, instead of village chiefs.

But the provincial government didn?t bother to reply, said Braganza.

Some village chiefs wanted to surrender the shotguns but were hesitant to bring them to the police stations, fearing they would be charged with violating the gun ban law, Barba told the Inquirer by telephone.

There were at least two Pangasinan town mayors who asked that the shotguns not be recalled, saying these could be used to keep peace in their towns during the election period, he added.

The memorandum of agreement between the provincial government, police and the barangay captains specified that the shotguns should be deposited to the police stations and would be under custody of the police chiefs during the election period.

?We are still studying the situation. Maybe we could adjust the provision in the MOA that calls for surrender. Instead, I will just direct the chiefs of police to go around the barangays to collect the shotguns,? Barba said.

?It would be difficult to leave the shotguns with the barangay captains during the election period as, even if they are padlocked, unauthorized persons maybe able to get and use them.?

Barba was referring to an incident in Alaminos City in which the son of a barangay captain accidentally shot and almost killed his friend using the barangay official?s shotgun.

Just last week, Noel Vinoya, a barangay captain of Poblacion in Labrador town, assaulted Prosecutor Nicolas Reintar in Lingayen.

?We are hoping that these guns will finally end up in the hands of our lawmen who badly needed it to maintain peace and order in our province,? said Braganza.

The provincial government has convinced 15 of the city?s 39 barangay captains to receive the shotguns despite warnings against issuing firearms to the village officials.

Braganza recalled several instances in the past when government-issued guns were used for crimes by village officials.

A resident of Alaminos was shot dead in 2007 during a heated argument allegedly by a village official of Bani town using a .45 cal. pistol issued by a congressman.

Last year, in Mangaldan town, a man complained that a barangay captain struck him with a shotgun issued by the provincial government.

There were other reports that government-issued shot guns were used to intimidate local residents, particularly political rivals of the gun holders. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon