Police raid Peña mansion,
89 guns, explosives found
2 COPS RELIEVED;
MAYOR SAYS FIREARMS HAVE LICENSES
BY CARLA GOMEZ & GILBERT BAYORAN

PULUPANDAN, Negros Occidental — The police recovered a cache of high-powered firearms, thousands of ammunition and explosives during a raid on the ancestral house of Mayor Magdaleno Peña in Barangay Ubay here yesterday.

Recovered were 89 firearms, which included  shotguns, AK-47 and M-16  assault rifles, .40 and .45 caliber pistols, a 357 revolver, two sniper rifles, and two canisters of one-fourth pound of TNT high grade explosives, Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz, police director for Western Visayas, said.

Thousands of ammunition for M-16 rifles, shotguns, .45 caliber and 9mm pistols in boxes, bandoleers, combat boots and gun holsters, were also recovered.

Mar: Abuse won’t be tolerated
GUV COMMENDS  PNOY, ROXAS
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

The raid on the Peña ancestral home in Pulupandan was based on a search warrant granted by the court, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas yesterday said.

“Abusive behavior by public servants will not be tolerated. Pulupandan, like the rest of the country, is a no wang-wang zone,” Roxas said in a text message to the DAILY STAR.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said he and the people of Negros Occidental highly commend the firm commitment of President Benigno Aquino and Roxas for peaceful, clean and honest elections in the province.

N4NM questions
Bacolod Comelec
BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

The convenors of the Negrenses for Noynoy Movement yesterday questioned the request of the Commission on Elections Office in Bacolod for the additional fund and the transfer of the canvassing of the election returns from the BAYS Center to the Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall at the Bacolod City Government Center.

Convenor Nana Yulo claimed that they, together with the “citizenry,” were disturbed by the request of acting Bacolod Comelec Registrar Salud Milagros Villanueva from the city government of P5,141,550 because the Comelec is financed by the national government.

She also questioned the decision of the Bacolod Comelec to transfer the canvassing of the ER’s to the SP session hall as opposed to what she called the “spacious and transparent” BAYS Center.