Bang! Bang! Bang!

Those sounds are worth championship titles. They have earned loads of trophies for one marksman. It could have come from any firearm. But it wasn’t just any gun that fired those winning shots. They came from a Beretta, a worn-out 9 mm Beretta.

Six years in the hands of a good shot made the handle lose its natural coarseness. In fact, it seemed out of place in a blue J.R. Holster (what shooters consider a world-class brand) where Jail Officer 2 Florante S. Goyena, Jr. lodges his Beretta, the BJMP’s marksman’s Beretta.

“You see, it’s now faded,” smiled Goyena, showing every inch of his gun. But this same shabby gun earned not just him but also the Jail Bureau priceless honors in the shooting range through the years. His opponents’ CZ SP-01 Shadow, STI GP6, Tanfoglio, GLock 17 and all pricey 9mms, bowed to his own, his worn Beretta.

6 years ago

Who used to be a gofer, picking up empty shells for uniformed officials in the shooting range back in 2002 is now a celebrated marksman. For a long time, he remained at the shadows until the time when, out of fun, he was asked by then Superintendents Montalvo, Flor and Oreiro, to try and fire. The rest is history.

It was at the Marius P. Corpuz Cup in 2003 that ignited the chain of luck for JO2 Goyena, claiming year after another, title after title of the most coveted marksmanship trophy.

Since then, constant practice brought the country’s shooting team to fire with him in every firing range they could set foot on. His practice is not simple. It meant soaking his hands into oil to master his grip under the most difficult circumstance. The years were witness to a yearly influx of trophies from different shooting competitions. In the last five months of 2010 alone, he obtained seven championship cups.

Loyalty to BJMP

“In all my matches, I always wear shirts with bold BJMP markings at the back,” smiled JO2 Goyena, as if the shirts are his lucky charm. Or is it his scruffy Beretta? “I want to shout to the world that BJMP is master when it comes to gun-handling. Each of my fights is BJMP’s fight,” he added.

He recounted how then Senator Benigno Aquino III was amazed when he asked our hero to fire under the pouring rain. With an old Beretta in his grip, plus the blur that the rain was causing, his act was a mouth-gaping performance before the country’s elite shooters.

His speed and accuracy in shooting endeared him not only to other agencies but more nobly to the academe. He is tapped by different organizations and colleges to lecture in the field of shooting. His list includes the National Food Authority, the Presidential Security Group, private businessmen, and others. For free! “I am doing it in my capacity as a jail officer and so I deem it as a responsibility to give what I have without recompense,” explained JO2 Goyena. He revealed that whenever he lectured, he made sure he was on his GOA, whether in the academe or agencies.

“There is no amount of money worth the self-fulfillment and honor for BJMP in each job well done,” he stressed.  I do not earn anything in shooting except pride and honor for my BJMP which is your BJMP, too.

The challenge

Even experts have wishes. JO2 Goyena dreams of a shooting team for BJMP. He envisions a roll of marksmen for BJMP so that the Bureau does not have to cram each time it joins a match. “This is one very noble way we can promote BJMP,” he remarked. “It is our way of informing the world that BJMP is part of the uniformed service and that gun is part of the uniform. Let not those who do not have guns master those who have, it’s a shame.”