NEGROS Occidental and Bacolod City had the greatest number of firearms seized during the implementation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban, which ended Thursday, June 9, 2022.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas Spokesperson Colonel Ariel Solis said of the 138 firearms seized since the gun ban started in January this year, 67 were recovered in various areas in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.
Aside from firearms, Solis said 40 bladed weapons were also recovered from the province and city.
He said the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) arrested and charged 80 gun ban violators while the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) has 20.
In total, PRO-Western Visayas records showed that the entire Western Visayas logged 240 arrests during the five-month duration of the gun ban that started on January 9.
Solis said the number is lower compared to the 320 persons arrested during the implementation of the Comelec gun ban back in 2019.
For his part, PRO-Western Visayas Director Brigadier General Flynn Dongbo lauded all the commanders and personnel of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard and Comelec.
Dongbo said the collective effort in implementation checkpoints across the region of all government agencies involved contributed to the successful conduct of May 9, 2022 elections.
"The arrest of the violators prevented them from potentially creating unlawful actions due to their possession of deadly weapons and firearms,” he added.