Paulo fears he’ll be framed; PNP looking for 3 more guns

The son of suspended Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is not yet off the hook after  turning over five firearms to the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) before the Holy Week break.

Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo, Police Regional Office (PRO-7) chief, said there are three more firearms registered under the name of the businessman based on  records of the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) which he has yet to turn over.

Garbo said Garcia  should surrender them as well.

Meanwhile, Pablo “Paulo” Garcia  III said he received reports that some persons approached several gunsmiths requesting for a certification stating that the firearms that he turned over to the police were “fake.”

“All my firearms are in police custody. They were examined, accepted and cleared by the police with no doubt on their authenticity because they are all originals,” he  said.

Garcia  said he turned over the firearms “as a sign of good faith and my continued willingness to abide by the law.”

“Even without receiving formal notice of the cancellation of my firearms licenses, I turned them over to the police,” he said.

With him unarmed, Garcia said he and his family are facing security risks.

“I am hopeful that no one would be persuaded to issue a false certification on the authenticity of all of the firearms, which I have turned over to the police,” he added.

Last month, Garcia  turned over to Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, CPPO chief, a  Bushmaster 5.56 rifle, a Glock 26 9mm pistol, a Colt 5.56 rifle, a Glock M19 9mm pistol and a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.

The firearms licenses of Garcia and his two friends were revoked last March 15 by Camp Crame following last Dec. 19’s Capitol standoff.

Codilla was accused of hitting  Insp. Alvin Enguito on the head for removing tents used by his mother’s supporters.

He and his friends were charged with direct assault before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

Garcia’s  friend Jose Marie Primitivo Cal has yet to surrender his firearms while another friend, Tonyson Lee, already yielded his firearms to the police.

Garbo said they will resort to legal action if Cal doesn’t surrender his three other firearms. Correspondents Carmel Loise Matus and Chito Aragon