A female officer of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and three other members of the Philippine team bagged the silver medal in the recently concluded 19th International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) tournament in Thailand.
Jail Chief Inspector Crystalene Gonzales, who together with Evelyn Woods, Rizza Vidallon and Maria Joahna Catalan placed second behind Italy in the Team Production Division Lady Category.
“I’ve been doing the sport since my cadetship days at the Philippine National Police Academy and it is an absolute honor for me to represent the country," Gonzales said.
Gonzales pursued her passion for practical shooting after graduating from the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) in 2009 and is now an instructor at the National Jail Management and Penology Training Institute and a resource speaker to various armed defense training and seminars.
“For dreamers out there like me who is in this kind of sport, find a good teacher to help you because in my case, without my coaches, I am nothing," said Gonzales as she explained the value of mentoring in sport while giving the credit to her coaches Senior Jail Officer 4 Florante Goyena Jr, Johann Abanilla, Aldrin Gonzales, and Technical Sergeant Willard Carera.
“Keep on practicing and stay focused in sharpening your skills because it took me more than a decade before I reached this stage," she added.
In commending Gonzales, BJMP chief Jail Director Allan Iral said “we are proud that one of our BJMP officers became a member of the Philippine Team and won in this global shooting competition.’’
“And, we are grateful too on her efforts of teaching our personnel to do better in marksmanship and armed defense as we continuously improve our skill sets to do better in our custodial and escorting duties," he added.
The IPSC is the world’s largest shooting sports association and host to the biggest practical shooting events in the world. (Chito A. Chavez)