CAMP GEN. VICENTE LIM, Calamba City, Laguna – Police seized a cache of high-powered firearms allegedly owned by a member of a gun-for-hire gang during a raid of his house in Sitio Marecacawan, Barangay Quipot, San Juan, Batangas Saturday, July 16.
Police Brig. Gen. Antonio Yarra, Police Regional Office 4-A director, identified the suspect as Jay-R Bas, 37, a businessman.
Bas was not around during the raid and is now the subject of a police manhunt.
Yarra said operatives from the Provincial Intelligence Unit-Batangas Provincial Police Office, 1st Batangas Provincial Mobile Force Company, Special Weapon and Tactics of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 4-A, Regional Intelligence Division 4-A, Regional Intelligence Unit 4-A, NISG Southern Luzon, and San Juan Municipal Police Station implemented Search Warrant No. 2022-002 in the suspect’s house issued by Judge Rosemarie Manalang-Austria, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 87, Rosario, Batangas at 1 p.m.
They found a weapons stash – a Colt M16 rifle, body of a caliber 9mm pistol, Jericho caliber 9mm pistol, Armscor caliber .45 pistol, assorted magazine and ammunition, three 20mm high explosives, four rifle grenades with tracing bullet, and an MK 2 and a M26A2 fragmentation hand grenades.
Yarra said that the operation was result of information provided by concerned citizens that Bas had been illegally discharging his firearms in different occasions that threatened their safety.
The PRO 4-A chief added that Bas was identified as a member of the Eleazar Rocio gun-for-hire group that operates in the region.
A criminal complaint for violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act will be filed against Bas.
The recovered firearms will be subjected to ballistics examination and records verification to determine if it has links to crimes, Yarra said.