Says it’s ‘just a way of welcoming guests’ Laoag City Councilor Vicentito M. Lazo has defended Rep. Roque R. Ablan Jr.’s (1st district, Ilocos Norte) action of firing his long rifle at the Laoag International Airport (LIA) on April 22 saying the legislator fired a shot as his way of welcoming his guests who were then on board a chartered flight and who were to join the congressman’s birthday celebrations. Lazo, who also sits as an ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod by virtue of his being the president of the local chapter of the Philippine Councilors’ League (PCL) and who was with Ablan at the time of the incident, made this statement on Monday. “Iti panagkitak ket kasla panangsarabona lang kadagiti sumangpet a bis-bisita tayo. Awan met ti masapul nga illemeng tayo kadaydiay gapu ta awan met ti nakita tato a naperwisyo (As I see it, he was only welcoming our guests. There’s nothing to hide about the incident since nobody was affected by it),” Lazo said. Lazo went on to say that the latest incident at the LIA involving Ablan should not be compared to the earlier controversy which involved former Laoag City Mayor Roger C. Fariñas where he was alleged to have harassed a Philippine Airlines (PAL) employee and which later allegedly resulted in the sudden pull-out of PAL in the province. The Ablan incident at the LIA apparently stemmed from a plane parking disagreement wherein the congressman was said to have fired at least three shots in the air to get the attention of the pilot of the chartered plane. Among the guests that were then on the plane included the Russian ambassador and a civil aviation executive who traveled from Manila just to attend the congressman’s birthday celebration. Leilanie G. Adriano
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