Police Colonel Percival R. Zorrilla, director of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), said that a total of 292 loose firearms were confiscated from August to October as part of their campaign against loose firearms. | Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police personnel in Cebu province recovered a total of 292 unregistered and unlicensed firearms during operations from the month of August to October, encompassing the election gun ban which began on August 28, 2023.
Police Colonel Percival R. Zorrilla, director of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), said that these weapons were confiscated during their operations against loose firearms particularly with the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on October 30.
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How loose firearms were seized
Through the combined efforts of the different police operatives in the province, a total of 292 illegal firearms were confiscated during the execution of search warrants and normal police operations such as checkpoints.
A total of 43 persons were arrested through search warrants while 28 persons were caught during normal police operations in the province for possession of illegal firearms.
According to Zorrilla, the confiscated firearms were a mix between different caliber weapons such as .38 caliber revolvers, .45 caliber pistols, and .9 mm revolvers.
“Sagol-sagol na siya, naay .38, .45, naay 9mm…Kasagaran walay [lisensya],” he said.
(It’s a mix of .38, .45, there are also 9mm…most of them have no [license].)
Zorrillla said that it would be possible that these firearms could have been used to commit illegal activities during the election season.
READ: Gun replicas covered by barangay, SK polls gun ban, public warned
Cops told: Be apolitical
Zorrilla also said that with the date of the elections getting nearer, he warned policemen in the province to remain apolitical and refrain from publicly campaigning for their favored candidates.
“Gi-warningan ko sila nga mahimo, apolotical ug neutral sila. Kung naa man sila ganahan nga kandidato, ipakita nila sa balota. Didto sila magbotar. Dili katong mag-campaign siya nga kani ang akong ganahan. Ako nang giwarningan sila,” he said.
(I warned them that if possible, they would be apolitical and neutral. If they have candidates that they like, show them in the ballots. Vote for them there. Not that they will campaign for those candidates that they like. I have warned them of that.)
READ: Comelec issues gun ban rules for 2023 Barangay, SK elections
Cops with kin running for BSKE transferred
He said that in order to ultimately avoid bias, police personnel with relatives running for BSKE were already transferred to different areas in the province.
“Diri sa province, before pa sa election period, ato nana gi-inventory ang katong mga naa paryente nga modagan sa BSKE. So na-rotate na sila. Nabalhin na sa lain-laing area nga dili didto sa ilahang mga relatives nga nidagan sa BSKE,” said Zorrilla.
(Here in the province, before the election period, we have already an inventory of those policemen’s relatives who run in the BSKE. So we have rotated them. We have transferred them to other areas far from the areas where their relatives are running in the BSKE.)
READ: Comelec places 242 barangays under ‘red category’ for 2023 BSKE
Election security concerns tackled
On the other hand, Zorrilla said that during a meeting with the different chiefs of police stations in Cebu province, they have discussed about security concerns for the elections.
He added that one of their topic was the issue of vote-buying and vote-selling. However, he said that they have not received any report on either of these two issues, as of this writing.