14 arrested for violating gun ban

MANILA, Philippines - At least 14 civilians were arrested for violating the gun ban just two days after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) imposed the measure to ensure peaceful elections in May, a police official said yesterday.

Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, spokesman for the Philippine National Police, said the 14 civilians were arrested after the PNP set up 1,661 checkpoints nationwide to enforce the gun ban from Jan. 10 to June 8.

Mayor said Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga recorded three arrests each; two in Calabarzon; and one each in Cagayan Valley, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Negros island.

It is not yet clear if all the cases of gun ban violations reached the PNP national headquarters or if some of the cases reported by local officials and policemen are included in the 14 cases recorded.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested a jobless man and a watchman during separate checkpoint operations in line with the gun ban at dawn yesterday.

Alfredo Bautista was arrested for possessing a homemade .22 caliber revolver with three bullets at a checkpoint between the intersections of Zabarte Road and Barangay Kaligayahan around 5 a.m., Fairview police station commander Supt. Alex de Jesus Alberto said.

Alberto said Bautista was spotted by operatives as he was suspiciously wandering in the area. His attention was called but he “scampered” away, leading to a brief chase but operatives were able to corner him.

In a separate operation, Doven Demerin, a watchman, was arrested at the intersection of Scout Borromeo and Scout Tuazon in Barangay West Triangle at 5:45 a.m.

Demerin yielded a magnum revolver with seven bullets and a fired cartridge case inserted into its cylinder when he was frisked by the police, according to Chief Insp. Rodel Marcelo, chief of the QCPD’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU).

Demerin’s arrest came after patrolling policemen were flagged down by the barangay tanods about the presence of a group of men who were drinking and indiscriminately firing weapons in the street.

Bautista and Demerin are currently detained at the Fairview Police Station and at the CIDU.

In Laguna five people, including a Filipino-Chinese man and his female companion, were arrested for illegal drugs and possession of firearms yesterday. – With Roel Pareño, Robertzon Ramirez, Perseus Echeminada, Jennifer Rendon, Ben Serrano, Ed Amoroso, John Unson, Ric Sapnu