ILOILO CITY — Some 2,515 loose firearms seized as a result of the enforcement of “Tokhang Kontra Ginadilian nga Pusil” (TKGP) in Western Visayas were presented during the celebration of the 117th Police Service Anniversary held here Tuesday.
Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Director of Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas), said in an interview that the firearms were those surrendered and confiscated. Of the 2,515 firearms, 46 were confiscated by virtue of search warrants.
“I am happy with the result. This is our way of showing our guests that we are reacting on all the orders given by the national headquarters,” Bulalacao said.
“This is our way of addressing (the problem on) loose firearms in our region and our way of preparing for the forthcoming (2019 mid-term) elections,” he added.
Bulalacao recognized the strong support of the community, especially those who surrendered their firearms.
He said they are expecting the region to become more peaceful, especially during the 2019 elections.
“If these firearms are still outside, these might cause a number of incidents if these will be used in doing violence,” he said.
Bulalacao said they will relentlessly campaign against loose firearms since their record showed that there are about 69,000 loose firearms in the entire region.
“I am still appealing to all our constituents to surrender their unlicensed firearms to our custody. We know these loose firearms are the ones being used by criminal elements and unscrupulous individuals in perpetrating crimes, which cause violence in our region,” he added.
PRO-6’s campaign against loose firearms was launched in the region last July 23.
The campaign was implemented in two approaches. First is the “soft hand” approach wherein they will do house-to-house visits and hold an information drive to encourage individuals to surrender their unregistered firearms.
Second is the “iron hand” approach with police conducting operations against loose firearms through search warrants. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
