By Jennifer P. Rendon
He might have the best of intentions, but it was not enough to let him off the hook for allegedly carrying an unlicensed gun.
Barangay Captain Peter Pastoral, 48, of Barangay Ubos Ilawod, Miagao, Iloilo, was asked early evening of July 10, 2021 to pacify a commotion in his village.
Pastoral immediately responded to the area but not before calling in the police to help.
He brought with him a caliber .45 pistol (American M1911 GI, serial number BC00483-09-246) with magazine loaded with six ammunitions.
When he arrived at the area, Pastoral learned that the commotion happened after an elderly husband, who was in his 60s, caught his young wife, who was in her 30s, in a compromising situation with a man about her age.
Pastoral tried to pacify the fight.
“We didn’t know exactly what happened after that. But the other man’’ allegedly tried to attack him (Pastoral),” Captain Marvin Buenavista, Miag-ao police chief, said.
This allegedly prompted Pastoral to draw his gun in a bid to defend himself.
And it was also at that juncture when responding police officers arrived.
While some inquisitive neighbors were taking video of what happened, the “other man” told police operatives that Pastoral was in possession of a handgun.
Buenavista said that police officers caught the village official holding on to the pistol in his right hand.
“When he was asked to present a document for his gun possession, he could not present any. So, we had to arrest him,” he said.
Following what happened, Pastoral is now detained at the Miag-ao Police Station detention facility for violation of Republic Act 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act).
The “other man,” meanwhile, might only face a case for alarm and scandal.
