By Edwin Fernandez

ARRESTED. Norodin Utto Jr., chair of Barangay Panadtabah, Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur after his arrest for illegal possession of firearms on Thursday (Oct. 17, 2024). Utto was apprehended at his residence in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat. (Photo courtesy of DXMS Radio Cotabato)

COTABATO CITY – Police arrested the chairperson of a village in Maguindanao del Sur in his residence in Sultan Kudarat on Thursday afternoon for illegal possession of firearms.

The arrested official was identified as Norodin Utto Jr., 35, who resides in Barangay Poblacion, Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat despite serving as the chair of Barangay Panadtabah in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur.

“Utto maintains a residence in Lambayong while holding office in Rajah Buayan,” Capt. Jayson Cepeda, municipal police chief of Lambayong, said Friday.

Armed with a court-issued arrest warrant, police officers arrived at Utto’s Lambayong residence at about 3 p.m. and apprehended him for violating Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition.

“Utto did not resist the arrest,” Cepeda said, adding that the court granted Utto a bail of PHP10,000 for his temporary liberty, through his legal counsel. (PNA)