By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — More than 6,300 persons have been apprehended for violating the election gun ban which started on January 13, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Thursday.
As the gun ban was lifted midnight Wednesday, PNP spokesperson, Col. Bernard Banac said a total of 6,362 violators were caught in 838,133 police operations.
Of this number, 3,852 suspects were intercepted during police patrol responses, 1,288 through search warrants, and 1,117 during “Oplan Bakal, Sita, Galugad” operations.
Banac said the figure also includes 430 persons apprehended in checkpoints and 97 others during the serving of warrants of arrest.
He said 5,989 of those arrested are civilians while 104 are security guards; 94 are government and elected officials; 48 are police officers; 25 military personnel; 19 law enforcers; 24 members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU), four Bureau of Jail Management and Penology members; and 15 foreign nationals.
Authorities have also arrested 31 persons from “threat groups” and nine from private armed groups.
Banac added that the PNP has so far confiscated a total of 5,304 firearms (small, light, and others — improvised or homemade guns) and 50,386 deadly weapons, which include grenades and other explosives, bladed/pointed weapons, ammunition and gun replicas.
He said the PNP investigators are coordinating with state prosecutors to ensure successful prosecution of the 6,362 arrested violators of the Omnibus Election Code for election law offenses and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
“What is more significant is the fact that we were able to take away 5,304 instruments of violence from the hands of criminal and terrorist elements and that could have resulted in more deaths,” Banac said.
He noted the Comelec checkpoints will now shift to regular checkpoint operations just like mobile checkpoints operations.
He added the PNP has downgraded its alert status from full to normal alert nationwide, except in areas where there is presence of threat groups.
“Except for areas covered by the police regional offices 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), the PNP is back in its normal alert status. These areas (in Mindanao) are still on full alert due to the presence of threat groups like the Abu Sayyaf, BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) and communist terrorists,” he told reporters.
Earlier, PNP chief, Gen. Oscar Albayalde said the incidents of election-related violence this year declined by 60 percent as compared to the last elections.
Albayalde said a total of 43 incidents with 73 victims were recorded this year, as compared to the 106 incidents with 192 victims during the 2016 elections.
“This could be attributed to our relentless efforts in addressing risk factors such as reducing private armed groups as well as other gun-for-hire groups of some candidates,” Albayalde said.
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