A POLICE report said another gun ban violator was arrested Friday at a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint.
Police Chief Inspector Romeo Leyte, police chief of Isabela said combined elements of Isabela Philippine National Police (IPNP) and the Alpha Company of the 11th Infantry Battalion arrested Richard Dela Torre, 34, for possessing a caliber 45 pistol.
Leyte said Dela Torre was a resident of Barangay Guintubdan in Isabela.
Leyte's men, along with army troopers of the 11th IB led by 1Lt Angelito Luna, arrested Dela Torre in Barangay Camp Clark of the town.
The arrested is detained at the Isabela PNP Station pending the filing of court charges.
Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office director, Police Senior Superintendent Manuel Felix lauded both the police and the military personnel for their relentless effort in the campaign against violators of the firearms ban in the province.
Meanwhile, more than 700 individuals have been apprehended since the Comelec ordered the implementation of the nationwide total gun ban last January 10 as part of the government’s stepped-up measures to ensure orderly and peaceful elections in May, a government press agency reported.
On Saturday, 25 more gun ban violators were arrested by joint elements of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during checkpoint operations nationwide.
Reports from the National Election Monitoring and Action Center (Nemac) showed that among the 25 arrested individuals were two policemen, a soldier and 22 civilians.
The latest violators yielded six high-powered firearms, 10 low-powered ones and 10 bladed weapons.
The latest apprehension brought to 704 the total number of arrested persons for violation of the total gun ban, it said.
Of the number, 50 are active policemen, 28 are personnel of the AFP, 596 civilians and 30 are government employees, it added.
Data from Nemac show that 255 high-powered guns, 318 low-powered ones, 761 gun replicas, 128 bladed weapons, and 16 explosives have been confiscated, it said.
It is for the first time the Comelec imposed a total gun ban without any exemption.
Under Comelec Resolution 8714, only bona fide members of the PNP, AFP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other government and accredited private security agencies are allowed to carry firearms during actual performance of their duty and in proper uniform.