INQUIRER Sports

DUMAGUETE CITY ? Top officials of the Commission on Elections arrived here Saturday to hone their skills in a Comelec-sponsored shooting competition.

Lawyer Eddie Aba, provincial election supervisor for Negros Oriental, said the competition, to be held at the Dumaguete Shootists Association gun range in Barangay (village) Looc of Sibulan town, has attracted the participation of national executives, regional directors and provincial election supervisors.

Edgardo Gurrea, chief of staff of Comelec Chairman Jose Melo, and Executive Director Jose Tolentino Jr. led the list of Comelec officials who joined Saturday?s shootfest, the first competition of its kind, according to Aba.

He said the idea to hold a shooting competition for Comelec officials came two years after a group of Comelec officials in Negros Oriental banded together to form the Negros Oriental Comelec Shooters Association (Nocsa).

Roberto Remolano, Nocsa president and election officer of Sibulan town, six kilometers north of Dumaguete, said they formed the association to learn how to use firearms.

?We are usually assigned to task forces during election time and we are assigned firearms. It would be useless to carry them if we are not proficient in using them,? Remolano said.

He said, however, that most Comelec officials were not ?serious shooters.?

Also expected at the shootfest were directors Renato Magbutay of Region 9, Danilo Pobe of Caraga, Michael Abbas of Region 12, Remlane Tambuang of Region 11, assistant regional executive director for Region 7 Veronico Petalcorin, director Teopisto Elnas of the Election and Barangay Affairs Department and director Bartolome Sino-Cruz Jr., deputy executive director for operations.

Provincial Election Supervisors Leandro Magusara of Siquijor, Lionel Castillero of Cebu and Eliseo Labaria of Bohol were also scheduled to join the tournament, Aba said.