FILE PHOTO: Police officers at a Comelec checkpoint, which are set up to implement the poll body’s gun ban and enforce stricter security during the election period.
ANGELES CITY — Policemen manning a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint arrested a motorcycle-riding man who was found carrying a handgun.
In a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 30, the police identified the suspect as Joshua Bognot, 21, a resident of this city.
The policemen manning a checkpoint on MacArthur Highway in Santo Domingo village flagged down the rider for not wearing a helmet.
While a traffic citation was being issued against him, a policeman asked for his driver’s license. When he took out his wallet from his pants, the handle of a handgun protruded from his waist.
When policemen asked for documents for the suspect’s firearm and a gun ban exemption from the Comelec, Bognot failed to show any.
The lawmen then arrested him and confiscated the caliber.38 revolver, which was loaded with four live bullets.
City police director Colonel Amado Mendoza Jr. said the suspect face charges of violating the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and the election gun ban.
Two other men were also arrested on Monday after yielding several firearms in Bataan province, according to the Central Luzon police.
In a statement, Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) director Brigadier General Jose Hidalgo Jr. said the gunban violators were arrested at Comelec checkpoints in Morong and Hermosa towns, both in Bataan.
He said two units of 12-gauge shotguns, a homemade handgun, and five plastic sachets of shabu (crystal meth) were confiscated from the suspect in Morong, while the man arrested in Hermosa yielded a caliber.38 revolver.
“The carrying of firearms, other deadly weapons, and explosives, as well as their transportation, is strictly prohibited from the start of the election period on [Monday] until its end on Nov. 29. Stricter penalties ranging from one year to twelve years imprisonment will be meted out to all violators,” Hidalgo said.
The Central Luzon police director said 146 PNP-Comelec checkpoints manned by at least 1,200 policemen had been established in the seven provinces and two highly urbanized cities in the region.
He urged the public to cooperate with authorities at checkpoints and gave assurance that police personnel would observe policies and procedures and uphold their basic rights.
“During checkpoint [inspection], motorists are advised to slow down, dim their headlights, turn on their cabin lights, and answer promptly if asked by police authorities. I have also reminded our personnel to be courteous to motorists and to adhere to general guidelines prescribed in our Revised Police Operational Procedures,” Hidalgo added. INQ
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