THE Police Regional Office (PRO) in Western Visayas intensified its crackdown on loose firearms, leading to the arrest of two individuals and the recovery of several firearms during operations on October 9, 2024.
The first operation occurred around 4:53 a.m. in Barangay Igsoligue, Miagao, Iloilo. Police arrested a 35-year-old farmer, known as alias Anton, and recovered one caliber .22 revolver and one caliber .22 rifle from his residence.
The operation was conducted by the Miagao Municipal Police Station (MPS), with support from the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (Ippo) and the 601st Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) in Western Visayas.
A separate operation followed at 11:02 a.m. in Barangay Poblacion, Ibajay, Aklan. Police arrested a 48-year-old man identified as alias Nesio. Recovered from him were a caliber .45 pistol, one magazine, and seven rounds of ammunition. The Aklan Police Provincial Office's (Akppo) Intelligence Unit, along with the Ibajay MPS, carried out the operation.
In September 2024, PRO-Western Visayas implemented 27 search warrants, resulting in the confiscation of 34 assorted firearms and two explosives, as well as the arrest of 20 individuals. Additionally, 289 assorted firearms and 36 explosives were voluntarily surrendered and deposited across various police offices in the region during the same month.
PRO-Western Visayas Regional Director Police Brigadier General Jack Wanky, praised the efforts of his subordinates in cracking down on loose firearms, emphasizing the importance of the campaign.
“Our campaign has two approaches: first, the ‘iron hand’ through law enforcement operations, and second, the ‘soft hand’ through intensified encouragement of loose firearms holders to deposit or surrender their undocumented or expired firearms to the nearest police unit,” Wanky said.
Wanky outlines a campaign involving law enforcement operations and promoting the surrender of undocumented or expired firearms to local police units. (SunStar Philippines)