Maguindanao village chair nabbed for gun possession

ESPERANZA, Sultan Kudarat –– Police arrested here Tuesday a Maguindanao village chief for possession of an unlicensed gun which authorities discovered following a highway mishap.

Lt. Col. Lino Capillan of the Police Regional Office 12, said the vehicle driven by Datu Ayatullah Jainal Mapandala, 39, of Barangay Kiladap in Talitay, Maguindanao figured in a road accident with another vehicle along the national highway in Barangay Dukay.

“Our police noticed he was carrying a black sling bag that was slightly opened and revealed the handgrip of a pistol,” Capillan said.

The police immediately asked Mapandala for the permit to own and carry a gun. When he could not present any, he was brought to the police station for custody.

Seized from Mapandala was a .45-caliber pistol and a firearm clip loaded with bullets./lzb