‘Gunrunner’ de Guzman: Alone and nearly forgotten
In stark contrast to the media attention that he got when he was accosted for smuggling hundreds of firearms 23 years ago, the death of Nicanor de Guzman Jr., a former lawmaker from Nueva Ecija province, almost came unnoticed.
De Guzman, 80, succumbed to a lingering liver and pancreatic illness on Sunday, February 12. His son, Restituto, told The Manila Times that the ex- lawmaker had been bedridden since his ailment was detected in November last year.
Except for a few friends in local politics, the younger de Guzman said that no big names have attended his father’s wake at their house in San Vicente Homes in Gapan City, Nueva Ecija.
De Guzman earned his “celebrity” status when on September 5, 1989, he was arrested after he allegedly tried to smuggle in more than 300 firearms through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
He resigned from the House of Representatives on August 7, 1990 after the Pasay City Regional Trial Court found him and his business partner Ponciano Datu guilty of gun smuggling.
The two were sentenced each to 17 years’ imprisonment.
After a brief furlough, on August 16, 1996 the Court of Appeals upheld their convictions but increased De Guzman’s sentence to a life term, saying that his offense was aggravated by the abuse of his position as a member of the House of Representatives.
De Guzman was charged with gun smuggling when operatives of the Philippine Air Force Security Command seized 314 assorted firearms from him at the airport.
The guns were wrapped in aluminum foil and contained in nine boxes that held six streetsweeper shotguns, .25 caliber and .45 Goldcup pistols and 9mm pistols.
Five of the boxes were consigned to “J. R. de Guzman” and the rest to businessman Datu.
Real owner
De Guzman’s case shook the administration of then-president Corazon Aquino when reports linking the President’s brother, Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr., to the attempted smuggling spread.
These claims, however, were not proved and never admitted by de Guzman himself.
De Guzman stood as one of this reporter’s wedding sponsors in 1995. His case was still on appeal then. Upon his release from prison after he was pardoned by then-president Joseph Estrada in the late 1990s because of old age, he took refuge in his hometown and tried to recover everything that he had lost during his imprisonment.
During one of this reporter’s visits, de Guzman casually talked about his experiences in prison, including his relationship with another jailed lawmaker, Romeo Jalosjos of Zamboanga Del Norte province whom he described as a “victim” of maling akala (wrong assumption).
“[ Jalosjos] told me that the girl looked much older than her age. That was his mistake,” de Guzman said.
Jalosjos was convicted of statutory rape and, like de Guzman, was jailed at the New Bilibid Prisons.
Obscurity
De Guzman learned to live with obscurity and confined himself to local Nueva Ecija politics where he last served as the campaign manager for the Joson family.
He launched an unsuccessful political comeback in 2004 and reinvented himself as a kingmaker in the province.
De Guzman joined forces with the Fourth District’s incumbent, Rep. Rodolfo Antonino, who lost to him in the 1988 congressional fight.
He was replaced by Arturo Lorenzo in the early 1990s.
According to Restituto, his father lived his life to the fullest amid fears of falling into destitution.
“Until he was diagnosed with his disease, he continued to drink his favorite beverage, beer, smoked, never missed a cockfight and stayed awake in late- night gatherings with friends,” the younger de Guzman said.
The former lawmaker was born on January 15, 1932 and just celebrated his 80th birthday with his family.
He will be buried at 2 p. m. on Sunday at Gapan Memorial Garden.