PRO8 to impose 45-day poll gun ban effective Sept. 28

By RPCRD, Police Regional Office 8
September 25, 2013

CAMP SEC. KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte – The Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8) will impose a 25-day gun ban throughout the region in relation with the forthcoming Barangay elections on October 28.

PCSupt. Elmer R. Soria informed that the implementation of the firearms ban will start on Saturday, September 28 up to November 12 or 30 days before and 15 days after the elections.

“With the gun ban, all permits to carry firearms outside residence issued by the Philippine National Police to civilian gun owners are suspended, meaning, licensed gun holders with PTCFOR are prohibited from bring their firearms outside their homes,” the police official said.

Exempted in the ban are regular members or officers of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement agencies of the government in proper uniform that are duly deputized in writing by the Comelec.

Soria ordered the setting up checkpoints in strategic places to strictly impose the gun ban during the election period and for police chiefs to closely coordinate with the Commission on Elections and their counterparts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the matter.

The police official further informed that based on the Comelec Resolution No. 9735, all gun ban exemptions issued in connection with the last May 13 national and local elections shall be recognized as valid for purposes of the Barangay and SK elections.

The gun ban will be implemented through the conduct of checkpoint operations in strategic places, operation bakal/sita, implementation of search warrants, police response and intelligence-driven operations, Soria added.

During the 6-month gun ban in connection with the May 2013 midterm elections, the PRO8 had arrested 186 violators wherein majority are civilians at 177 while 3 are members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and 6 security guards.

Of the figure, 22 violators were arrested in checkpoint operations, 106 during police responses, 19 during the implementation of search warrants, 7 during the service of arrest warrants and 32 during the conduct of focused police operations.

Meanwhile, of the 155 firearms confiscated, 58 are high-powered and 97 are low-powered, and 151 criminal charges were filed in different courts throughout the region.