29 more gun ban violators nabbed
March 22, 2010 12:38 am
MANILA, March 21 – Government authorities arrested 29 violators of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)- imposed nationwide total gun ban on Saturday, bringing to more than 1,500 the total number of arrested individuals since the start of the ban last January.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina said the latest violators were composed of 28 civilians and one government personnel.
Espina said the latest gun ban violators yielded 16 firearms -– three high-powered and 13 low-powered, 13 bladed weapons and an explosive during actual checkpoint operations on Saturday.
Latest reports from the National Election Monitoring and Action Center (NEMAC) showed that a total of 1,525 individuals – 1,351 civilians and 174 government personnel, including members of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) — were apprehended since January 10.
Government authorities confiscated 1,297 firearms from the violators. Of the number, 807 were low-powered while 490 were classified as high-powered.
A total of 805 different kinds of gun replicas were also seized, along with 387 bladed weapons and 236 various types of explosives.
The Comelec, through Resolution 8714, has imposed the nationwide total gun ban as part of the government’s stepped-up measures to ensure honest, orderly and peaceful elections in May.
Under Comelec Resolution 8714, only bona fide members of the PNP, AFP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other government and accredited private security agencies are allowed to carry firearms during actual performance of their duty and wearing proper uniform.
Aside from the nationwide total gun ban, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also ordered government security forces to dismantle all private armed groups (PAGs) operating in the country to prevent election-related violence. (PNA)
DCT/scs/MM
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