CEBU CITY — Some gun-making equipment and firearms worth more than PHP2 million were seized by police Thursday afternoon from an illegal firearms manufacturer in Danao City, some 33 kilometers north of this city.
Elements of the Regional Special Operations Group in Central Visayas (RSOG-7) raided the manufacturing site past 5 p.m. Thursday and found big machines and equipment for making caliber .45 pistols, caliber .38 revolvers and high-powered firearms such as KG9 and 9-mm rifles.
Arrested during the raid was alleged gun-maker Glenn Capoy, 44, of Danao City, who denied on Friday manufacturing firearms but admitted that he has been making gun spare parts for more than 20 years now.
Capoy said making gun parts is his only means of livelihood.
He also denied ownership of the machines and equipment, saying he is just working for a certain Romulo Casia, also of Danao, who pays him PHP500 for every spare part he can make.
Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) Director Debold Sinas said they are intensifying their campaign against loose firearms in preparation for the 2019 mid-term elections.
Sinas said they are not dismissing the possibility that some politicians will use unlicensed firearms to arm their private armies during the election next year.
“We have received a directive from Camp Crame to intensify our campaign against illegal firearms manufacturers especially since the election is near,” Sinas said. “We are focusing on Danao because the city is famous for making guns.”
He added that all unlicensed firearms confiscated by authorities in Cebu came from Danao, based on the confession of arrested gun smugglers.
Sinas said they will not only go after firearms manufacturers but also against makers of gun parts and accessories to ensure that no guns will be made out of the spare parts.
“We have to start in Danao, so that no firearms can be exported to other provinces in the country,” he said. (Luel Galarpe/PNA)
