Cagayan governor arrested for 2013 gun case

ENRILE, Cagayan—Police on Monday arrested Gov. Alvaro Antonio on a charge of violating the election gun ban in May 2013.

Antonio was arrested as he was about to board his car, after delivering a speech before provincial employees who were holding their Christmas program at the Capitol gymnasium around 11 a.m.

The complaint against the governor was filed by Secretary Manuel Mamba of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, whose brother, William, a three-term mayor of Tuao town, ran and lost against Antonio in the 2013 gubernatorial race.

Sources, who declined to be named for lack of authority, said the warrant for Antonio’s arrest was issued by Judge Miraminda Cabulisan-Callangan of the Municipal Trial Court in Alcala, Antonio’s hometown.

The governor, however, did not post the P10,000 bail. His daughter, Tin, said the family would launch a campaign to raise the bail money.

“My father has been a good governor. He has served the people well. Now is the time for us to see how our people will replicate [his dedication] by donating P1 for his freedom,” she said.

Mamba accused Antonio of firing at his four-vehicle convoy as it passed Alcala on Election Day, May 13, 2013.

Mamba’s complaint included the testimonies of witnesses, among them three police officers, who claimed to have seen Antonio “brandishing a long firearm” as he stood near a waiting shed. They claimed that Antonio appeared to have been “preparing to [shoot] as the convoy drove past the Alcala town hall.”

Antonio has denied the allegations. Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon