138 violators nabbed in W. Visayas as gun ban ends

By Jennifer P. Rendon

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban ended on Nov. 29 with the arrest of 138 violators in three months of implementation.

The Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 records indicated a decline or even zero arrests down to the last few days of the ban.

Still, PRO-6 data showed that most violators are civilians at 131.

Four violators are security guards while another two are lumped under the category of other law enforcement agency (OLEA). It was gathered that one OLEA violator is a member of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) who was arrested in Iloilo City while the other one is a provincial guard from Aklan province.

One PNP member was also arrested.

The region’s two biggest provinces accounted for the majority of arrests

The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Police Office (NOCPPO) arrested 40 while the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) nabbed 24; Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) with 18; Capiz PPO with 17; and l Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) with 16.

Aklan PPO arrested 11 violators; Guimaras PPO, Antique PPO, and the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RFMB) 6 with four each.

Among others, the arrested persons were or will be charged for violation of Comelec Resolution No. 10918, which prohibits the bearing, carrying, or transporting firearms and other deadly weapons outside residence or place of business, and in all public places; employing, availing, or engaging the services of security personnel and bodyguards; and transporting or delivering firearms and explosives, including its parts, ammunition, and/ or components.

Meanwhile, Major Mary Grace Borio, PRO-6 spokesperson, said PRO-6 has confiscated a total of 110 firearms, 48 deadly weapons, 438 assorted ammunition, and two explosives.

Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor, Western Visayas police chief, has lauded the accomplishments of the troops for the strict implementation of the COMELEC Gun Ban from the day it was implemented down to its last day.