4,839 people arrested in election-related operations — PNP

Philippine National Police spokesperson Police Colonel Bernard Banac. INQUIRER.net file photo / Cathrine Gonzales

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 4,839 people have been arrested during the focused police operations in relation to the security of the 2019 midterm elections, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday.

Police Colonel Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said most of the arrested individuals are civilians (4,557 individuals) followed by security guards (82 individuals), government officials (76 individuals), and members of threat groups (27 individuals).

Several members of the PNP (38 individuals) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (17 individuals) were also arrested.

Other individuals arrested include foreign nationals, private armed groups, and members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu) and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The arrests of the suspects were in relation to various election-related offenses, most prominently the Commission of Elections-imposed gun ban.

READ: Election security ops in place as poll period starts

PNP reported that 4,038 firearms have been confiscated, recovered, or surrendered.

The confiscated firearms include small firearms (3,063), improvised and homemade firearms (884), and light firearms (91).

Other weapons such as ammunitions, pointed weapons, grenades, and improvised explosive devices (IED) were also confiscated, the PNP said.

PNP said most of the arrests happened during patrol responses (2,689 arrests) and operations aided by search warrants (992 arrests).

Arrests were also made in checkpoints and during PNP’s different operation plans (OPLAN) such as OPLAN BAKAL, SITA, and GALUGAD.

The PNP has conducted 594,810 police operations — most of which are in PNP Comelec checkpoints (549,102 police operations) — from January 13 to April 28, 2019 in preparation for the coming midterm elections. /jpv