3 gun ban violators nabbed in Quezon, Batangas

LUCENA CITY––Three election gun ban violators were arrested Thursday in Quezon and Batangas provinces.

Colonel Joel Villanueva, Quezon police chief, said patrolling policemen nabbed Jay Jay Santiago, 37, and Angelo Lozada in Barangay Sisirin in Pitogo town around 4 p.m.

Santiago was carrying a caliber .22 rifle while Lozada yielded two bullets, Villanueva said in a report Friday.

Villanueva said 64 checkpoints had been put up in 39 municipalities and two cities in Quezon to strictly implement the nationwide gun ban for the election period from Jan. 9 to June 8.

The Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) regional police also reported that authorities collared Rommel Cena after he fired his firearm in Barangay San Isidro in Rosario, Batangas around 8:30 p.m.

The suspect, who was drunk, was found carrying a caliber .45 pistol. Investigators also found five empty bullet shells on the premises.

The suspects were detained and faced criminal charges for violating gun laws and the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines. INQ

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