Bohol cop faces probe for pawning gun to motel owner
A GUN owned by a police officer assigned in Bohol province was seized from a motorist in a checkpoint in barangay Ermita, Cebu City Wednesday night.
Police said a .45 caliber pistol was recovered from 27-year-old Ralph Ian Ongsuco Lerio, who was flagged down by operatives of the Carbon Police Station on Borromeo Street.
Police later discovered that the gun is owned by Junith Barotil based on the license card that was recovered from Lerio.
The rank of the policeman, a resident of barangay Pokpok, Loon town, Bohol, was not indicated in the card.
Lerio said Barotil pawned the firearm for P1,700 to his father, who owns a motel on Leon Kilat Street.
Lerio said the gun was just pawned a few minutes before he was arrested. He was to bring the firearm to his house in barangay Labangon for safekeeping.
“He (Barotil) may have ran out of cash to pay his bill at the lodge that prompted him to pawn the gun,” said Chief Insp. Noel Lomente, chief of the Carbon police.
Lomente said that although the gun is licensed and not government-issued, Barotil could still be held liable for pawning the gun.
Lomente said they will coordinate with their counterpart in Bohol to determine the possible administrative liability of Barotil.
Police said Lerio will be charged with illegal possession of a firearm.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
