Surigao del Sur — Police authorities have arrested eight individuals for violating the election gun ban in separate operations conducted over the weekend in Surigao del Sur province, it was reported on Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Jennifer Omiter, the Police Regional Office in the Caraga Region (PRO-13) information office chief, the suspects were arrested on Saturday in the towns of Marihatag and San Miguel.
In Marihatag, local police acted upon information from a tribal chieftain concerning unidentified men in Barangays San Antonio and Santa Cruz. The police arrested six individuals at a local store in San Antonio. One suspect was observed discarding a short firearm in a grassy area near the store, while another was found in possession of a sharp-bladed knife, Marihatag police stated. The recovered firearm was later identified as a loaded .45 caliber pistol with a holster.
In San Miguel, police arrested a man identified only as “Ric” who was carrying a .45-caliber MK IV pistol with two steel magazines and 11 live rounds. Additionally, a man named “Jack” was apprehended in the same town with a loaded Uzi machine pistol containing 14 live rounds, following the execution of a search warrant in Barangay Carromata.
“These accomplishments remind everyone that the Caraga police is intensifying the enforcement of laws to secure a safe and peaceful Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections,” said PRO-13 Director Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft in a statement issued Monday.
The PRO-13 has deployed 6,316 police personnel to provide security at 1,349 regional voting centers for the current elections.