CAMP RAFAEL C. RODRIGUEZ, Butuan City – Police arrested eight individuals for violating the election gun ban in Marihatag and San Miguel, Surigao del Sur, on Saturday, October 28.

The suspects were identified as alias “Wil,” 33; “Joe,” 42; “Ron,” 38; “Jer,” 48; “Gar”; “Jun,” 27; “Rick,” and “Jack.”
Barangay officials and residents reported to the police that armed men were roaming Barangay Santa Cruz and Barangay San Antonio.
Police caught up with Wil, Joe, Ron, Jer, Gar, and Jun gathered in a store in Barangay San Antonio.
While searching the suspects, police saw Wil throwing a short firearm to a nearby grassy area while Joe yielded knife tucked in his waist.
Suspects yielded a caliber .45 pistol loaded with live ammunition, a steel magazine, a holster, and a knife. They were arrested and taken into police custody.
A report from a concerned citizen led to the arrest of Ric in Barangay Poblacion, San Miguel, for possession of a caliber .45 MK IV pistol and two steel magazines loaded with 11 ammunition.
Police Regional Office-13 Regional Public Information Office (RPIO) chief Police Major Jennifer S. Ometer said Jack was nabbed in Barangay Carramota, San Miguel, during the implementation of a search warrant issued by a local court for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition. Seized from him were an Uzi submachine gun, a steel magazine, and 14 9mm bullets.
Ometer said cases for violating Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and the gun ban have been filed against the suspects.
PRO-13 Director Police Brig. Gen. Kirby John B. Kraft commended the people for helping them arrest the suspects. “We implore everyone’s cooperation by reporting any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest police station.”