Special gun ban ends today

CEBU, Philippines - The special gun ban that is being implemented in Cebu in line with the celebration of the Sinulog Festival ends today.

However, the Cebu City Police Office will continue conducting checkpoints as a preventive measure against crimes.

CCPO director Melvin Ramon Buenafe said the suspension of permit to carry firearms outside residence are allowed again as authorized by the chief of Philippine National Police (PNP) Raul Bacalzo but there are still checkpoints in some areas.

“We are going to continue our checkpoints as part of our Oplan Boga, for illegal firearms,” Buenafe said.

The special gun ban started on January 6 during the onset of the Sinulog activities wherein all chiefs of police in the entire province, city directors, the regional director and other law enforcement agency units were working together in implementing tight security measures.

During the special gun ban, the CCPO confiscated two unlicensed firearms and two other licensed firearms. One of the confiscated firearms was a M16 rifle owned by a policeman from the province of Masbate who was escorting one of the contingents during the Sinulog.

Buenafe said that the firearm was confiscated even if it had appropriate documents.

“The situation in Masbate is different from here and we do not want somebody carrying his firearm in such a crowded place like during Sinulog,” he said.

The firearm was returned to the policeman after Sinulog when the CCPO confirmed that he was organic personnel of the PNP in Masbate.

Buenafe disclosed that they will improve their security measures and eliminate lapses next Sinulog after they have identified their weak points.

He said that the main purpose of deploying policemen are for police visibility and to respond to crime incidents and not for crowd control.

“Crowd control is not our primary function but police was blamed for it, naa ma’y naka-assign nga unit ana,” Buenafe said.

He added that he needs to provide further information to his men on how to conduct themselves and when to react on situations that need their assistance.

“We have so many lessons learned and we will improve what we lack on the next Sinulog,” he said. (FREEMAN)