CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija — At least 486 firearms, including rifles with expired licenses, were placed under police custody as filing of certificate of candidacy for the forthcoming midterm elections draws near.
The five-day COC filing period will be on Oct. 11-12 and Oct. 15-17.
Senior Supt. Eliseo Tanding, Nueva Ecija police director, presented the haul to the media at the provincial headquarters on Tuesday.
Of the figure, 329 were pistols, 20 were low-powered rifles, 35 revolvers, 67 shotguns, two sub-machine guns, four high-powered rifles and 29 assorted calibers from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory Office.
Tanding said the firearms were voluntarily deposited by owners, including government offices under the PNP’s “Oplan Katok” campaign.
He said the guns were previously licensed but the respective owners failed to renew their documents.
“Ibabalik din sa may-ari kapag nakakuha na sila ng dokumento (The firearms will be returned to the owners upon getting documents),” he said.
Tanding encouraged other gun owners to follow suit.
He expressed hope the campaign against loose firearms will have positive impact on the May 2019 elections.
The latest batch of firearms was received by the police on Monday after almost two months of accepting the unlicensed guns for safekeeping. (Marilyn Galang/PNA)
