Over 3,000 gun ban violators arrested

MANILA, Philippines - Police have arrested 3,015 violators in 113 days of the gun ban.

The National Elections Monitoring Action Center (NEMAC) reported that 3,015 individuals were arrested from Jan. 13 to May 7.

Of the 3,015, police said 2,778 were civilians, 37 government employees, 41 policemen, 20 soldiers, three jail guards, one fireman, one law enforcement agent, four militiamen, and 130 security guards.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has seized 2,942 firearms, 929 bladed weapons, 190 grenades and 496 other explosive devices.

As of May 5, the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management has recorded a total of 185 cases filed in court, and 1,542 cases referred to police regional offices.

PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima has ordered the deployment of some 30,000 policemen, particularly in areas tagged as areas of concern, to maximize the effective police strength for election duty.

The 30,000 augmentation force was mustered from 18,000 policemen in administrative duty in national, regional, and provincial offices; and 12,000 currently undergoing training and schooling, he added.

Chief Superintendent Miguel Antonio said police-lawyers were also deployed in 17 regions to help enlighten policemen on issues relating to election duties.

The Commission on Elections will train 117 policemen to serve as board of election inspectors in some areas in Lanao del Sur after teachers backed out for fear of their lives, he added.