Loose firearms in Western Visayas drop from 20,000 to about 9,000

ILOILO CITY , Philippines  -- The Police Regional Office-6 Firearms and Explosives Unit (FEU) saw a downtrend in the number of loose firearms in Western Visayas from 20,000 in 2009 to an estimated 9,000 only to date.

Superintendent Ledon Monte, FEU chief, said the decline was due to the voluntary surrender of many unlicensed guns and the renewal of licenses of around 9,000 firearms. He said that of the present number, 8,000 are considered unregistered while 1,000 are those whose registrations were not renewed.

Police intelligence units revealed that most of these unlicensed guns are in the provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo.

To further lower the number of loose firearms, Monte said the police has strengthened its advocacy for gun holders to have their firearms licensed. "Our different police units have also intensified their operations against loose guns," Monte added.

Yesterday, PRO-6 awarded members of the Aklan Police Provincial Office-Intelligence Branch operatives, Criminal Investigation Detection, and Libacao Police Station for the arrest of three persons, suspected in possession of unlicensed guns, during a gun raid at Libacao, Aklan recently. Arrested were Alberto Castro, Marlou Castro, and Pepito Castro.

Seized from their possession were a .30 caliber M1 carbine rifle, a .45 caliber pistol (Colt), a .45 caliber pistol (Colt Mark 4), a homemade .38 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber (SW Magnum) revolver, a homemade .22 caliber single-shot pistol, two homemade 5.56 caliber pistols, a single shot 12-gauge shotgun, two .9mm pistols, 13 magazine assemblies of various firearms, 314 cartridges of various calibers and eight holsters of various pistols and revolvers.