ALAMINOS CITY – The incident referred to by City Mayor Hernani Braganza in his press conference Thursday morning in Lucap Wharf here concerned the gunslaying of Gabriel Bautista, 39, a male nurse  of the Western Pangasinan District Hospital who was    killed by four barangay officials of adjacent Bani town on September 2, 2007.

The mayor presented a teary-eyed Clara Bautista, 76, mother of the slain nurse and native of Lucap, who said Gabriel was her only son and sole breadwinner of the family.

With his death, he left for her to support his brother and two sisters, Kevin jay, 14, Marielle, 11 and Leslie Marie, seven.

“I want justice for my only son,” Mrs. Bautista said weeping saying those responsible must be punished to the full extent of the law.

The young Bautista was reportedly gunned down defenseless in front of a videoke bar in barangay Inerangan, Bani by four drunk barangay officials – Marcelo Tugas, barangay captain of Gabriela, Bani; former Barangay Captain Rico Aquino of San Miguel, Bani and Councilman Donald Sison, also fo San Maiguel, Bani and one Sonny Avelino, former barangay captain of Ambabaay, Bani.

Tugas, Aquino and Sison are now in the custody of the 106^th Police Mobile Group following their surrender to Mayor Braganza while Avelino, tagged as the gunman  remains at large.

“Many months in the past, the city suffered from violence. We do not want a repeat of that incident in our beloved city,” Braganza said referring to the slaying of Bautista which six of his co-employees, all nursing aides, and a balikbayan, witnessed on that day.

He said that in slaying Bautista, the suspects executed affidavits  that the guns used by them were among the caliber 45 pistols issued to barangay captains in the past by Congressman Arthur Celeste.

The distribution of the cal. 45 pistol to barangay captains in the first district of Pangasinan was made so discreet, according to Braganza, unlike the recent distribution of shotguns to all the province’s barangay captains which was so open.

Braganza added that Alaminos being the center of western Pangasinan where the world-famous Hundred Islands is located, does not need a wrong signal given to visitors  and investors that the city is not peaceful and needed to arm its barangay captains.

On the legality of the shotgun, Braganza also doubts whether a mere memorandum receipt  issued by the provincial government under Espino can take the place of a license or a permit to carry firearms since there are regulations governing possession of guns under the law which “must apply to all,”

There is even a need, he stressed, for the holder of firearms to secure clearnces and undergo neuro-psychiatric test and even drug test before his application to hold firearms iis approved by the Philippine National Police.