Lucena trader held for illegal firearm, violation of election gun ban

LUCENA CITY––Police arrested on Wednesday a businessman in this city for possession of an illegal firearm and violation of the election gun ban.

Cesar Bukid, 54, was arrested at 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 6 after police found a gun on the vehicle he was driving during a routine inspection at the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Kanlurang Mayao, said Lt. Col. Romulo Albacea, Lucena City police chief, in a report.

Bukid was showing his driver’s license and the vehicle’s registration through the open window of his vehicle when a police officer saw a firearm on the passenger seat.

When checked, the license of the firearm, a caliber .45 pistol loaded with eight bullets, was found to have expired on July 4.

The report described the suspect as a businessman, but the nature of his business was not specified.

The detained suspect faces charges for violating gun laws and the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, the report said.

The Philippine National Police has suspended the Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence nationwide, from midnight of Sept. 30 to 7 a.m. of Oct. 9, as part of the security measures for the eight-day filing of Certificates of Candidacy for the May 2022 elections.

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