PRO-6 turns to communities in loose firearms campaign

Police have long relied on arrest warrants, checkpoints and operations such as Oplan Bakal to address loose firearms.

But the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) has also turned to local leaders and communities to encourage firearm holders to surrender undocumented weapons.

Through Project RTT 3389, the regional police work with mayors and barangay officials to account for loose firearms across Western Visayas.

“We’re pioneering an approach not done in other regions,” said Police Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, Western Visayas police chief.

Project RTT 3389, which stands for Restrict, Track and Turn-in, is a PRO-6 initiative covering the region’s 3,389 barangays.

The campaign encourages communities to facilitate the voluntary surrender or proper turnover of loose firearms, with a goal of at least one firearm per barangay where such weapons are present.

Tuaño said the project was one of the main reasons PRO-6 led the country’s police regions in the number of loose firearms confiscated, recovered and surrendered.

Launched in August 2026, the campaign had achieved 100% compliance across provincial and city police offices by the following month, according to PRO-6.

Police said the program combines intelligence gathering and firearms accounting with a sustained police presence, house visits, coordination with local officials and community engagement.

The approach involves identifying and tracking unaccounted firearms, restricting their potential movement and misuse, and encouraging holders to turn them in voluntarily.

Police personnel visited communities, engaged local leaders and sought public cooperation across the region.

By Sept. 25, less than two months after the campaign began, 3,583 loose firearms had been voluntarily surrendered, according to PRO-6. Daily Guardian

“As I’ve said, crime prevention is a shared responsibility between the police and the community. And we have proven na kaya pala basta hilingin at pagsumikapan,” Tuaño said.

He said some personnel traveled long distances to reach remote and geographically isolated communities, returned when one visit was not enough, and relied on dialogue with local officials and firearm holders.

“Barangay officials became crucial partners on the ground—opening doors, helping police reach communities, and turning what could have remained a police campaign into a regionwide effort built on cooperation and trust,” he said.

During visits around the region, Tuaño has held programs to recognize local officials who supported the campaign.

He said barangay, municipal, congressional and provincial leaders were instrumental in its implementation.

“The significance goes far beyond the 3,583 firearms surrendered. Every loose firearm brought out of a community is one less weapon that can be diverted to crime, used to escalate a personal or domestic dispute, fall into the wrong hands, or turn an otherwise preventable confrontation into a tragedy. RTT 3389 was built on that simple but urgent premise: the safest loose firearm is the one brought under lawful control before it ever has the chance to become part of a police blotter,” he said.

Tuaño has attributed part of a decline in shooting incidents to the campaign against loose firearms.

PRO-6 recorded 21 shooting incidents in August, 16 in September and 10 in October, a 52.38% decline between August and October.

“This represents 11 fewer incidents, or a 52.38-percent reduction over the two-month period,” Tuaño said.

The figures show a decline over the period, although they do not establish on their own how much of the change was caused by the campaign.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, PRO-6 recognized campaign partners from Iloilo province’s 1st District at a program in Tigbauan.

Tuaño said the regional police are ready for Project RTT 3389 Version 2.0.