THREE gun holders were arrested and four firearms and ammunition were confiscated last May 23 amid the Police Regional Office (PRO) Cordillera's intensified campaign against loose firearms.
In Abra Province, Arcadio Biyoc Reyes, who was believed to be under the influence of liquor, was arrested in Poblacion, Lacub, Abra Thursday night, May 23.
Prior to his arrest, Reyes was reported to have fired his gun in front of their house after a misunderstanding with his father. Confiscated from him was a caliber .45 pistol loaded with one ammunition.
In Kalinga, Alfredo Diyawan Balac, 55, was caught in the act of cutting logs near his residence in Sitio San Isidro, Cudal, Tabuk City, Kalinga Thursday afternoon, May 23.
Operatives also found a caliber .45 pistol and five ammunition inside his bag, which was confiscated together with a chainsaw.
In Baguio City, police personnel searched the house of Roderick Lalata Mejia, 42, in Barangay Lourdes Proper and found two caliber .38 revolvers and 13 ammunition.
The search was done by virtue of a search warrant issued by Judge Mervin Jovito Samadan, acting presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 70, First Judicial Region, Burgos, Pangasinan.
All arrested persons, together with the confiscated pieces of evidence, are now in the custody of the concerned operating units. The suspects are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 1059, also known as Illegal Possession of Firearms and Ammunition.
Balac was also charged with violation of Presidential Decree 705, also known as the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, in addition to his other charges.
PRO Cordillera Director Israel Ephraim Dickson said the intensified police operations against unlicensed guns is part of the police's Kontra Boga Campaign, which targets unregistered and unlicensed firearms in the hands of threat groups, criminal elements and other civilian populace who initiate lawlessness in the community.
Dickson said the police continue to account and recover all loose firearms in the region.