At least 65 persons have been arrested since January 1 in different provinces of Ilocos Region for possession of unlicensed firearms and violation of the election gun ban, police said on Tuesday.
Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, Ilocos regional police director, said 78 assorted firearms were also seized in different police operations since the start of this year.
He said he had earlier ordered the strict implementation of the election gun ban, which started on January 13, and the intensified police operations against loose and unregistered firearms, to prevent their possible use in the May elections.
More than half of those arrested and carried guns came from Pangasinan, the region’s most populous and largest province.
The rest came from La Union, where six persons were arrested and eight guns seized; Ilocos Sur, which posted seven arrests and four firearms seized; and Ilocos Norte, where two persons were arrested and three guns seized.
The regional police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit also arrested two persons for gun ban violation.
Since January 13, at least 17 firearms have been surrendered to the police, Sapitula added.
The different police stations in the region received 126 firearms, which politicians and ordinary citizens deposited for safekeeping in compliance with the election gun ban until June 12, he also said. Gabriel Cardinoza /lzb