CEBU CITY – The first week of the implementation of the election gun ban netted 25 violators, the Police Regional Office 7 reported Wednesday.
The gun ban imposed by the Commission on Elections for the May polls started last Jan. 9 and will last until June 8, 2022.
The Jan. 9 -18 data of the Regional Election Monitoring Action Center 7 (REMAC 7) showed that aside from the 25 arrested persons, unregistered firearms, fragmentation hand grenades, other deadly weapons and ammunition were also seized.
Confiscated firearms included a .38 revolver, .45 and 9mm pistols.
Most of the arrests and seizures were made in Cebu province, the PRO 7 said.
A total of 1,615 checkpoints were put up during the period.
Police Brig. Gen. Eduardo Vega, chief of PRO 7, said checkpoints and police presence in the different cities and municipalities will be sustained until the last day of the election gun ban.
"We will closely monitor situations and election-related activities in Central Visayas round-the-clock through our REMAC. Rest assured checkpoints are conducted following the standard operating procedure of the PNP and IATF guidelines on minimum public health protocols," said Vega.