MALOLOS, Bulacan: The National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) has denounced the Police raid, conducted by joint operatives of the Bulacan Police Provincial Office (PPO) Intelligence Unit and Malolos City Police at the house of a newsman in this city on Wednesday night, allegedly for illegal possession of firearms. Reports said police operatives swooped down at the house of Orlan Mauricio, correspondent of Manila Standard and a lifetime member of NPC, located in No. 43 Golden Street, Felicisima Village, and occupant of No. 44 Cocoon Resort Green Street, Felicisima Village in Barangay Mojon in Malolos City. The lawmen were armed with two search warrants dated Sept. 23, 2020 and issued by Judge Nemesio Manlangit of the Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 2 in the City of Malolos, Bulacan. The warrants for illegal possession of firearms or violation of Section 28 of Republic Act 10591 were for Mauricio’s son, identified as Oliver Paul Mauricio aka “Sampaul.” In its social media post, NPC denounced “in the strongest possible term, the complicity, wittingly or unwittingly, of the Bulacan PNP, under Col. Lawrence Cajipe, and the local municipal court over their participation in the flagrant violation of the civil rights of Mauricio for political ends.”

However, “no items/articles subject of the search warrant were found” but recovered were ”two small scissors, one red lighter, one small burner, one used aluminum foil with traces/residue of suspected shabu, five pieces crumpled aluminum foil inside an electric kettle box and one jumbo roll of aluminum foil” that were allegedly chanced upon in plain view of Police operatives inside a printing office located inside the compound. Mauricio stated that the “recovered” evidence was “planted” and that he was preparing to file charges against the Police “raiding” team, as some of valuable items went missing when the operatives left the premises.