Caraga poll gun ban yields 240 guns, 215 nabbed

By Ben Serrano,
Correspondent

 BUTUAN City — A total of 215 violators have been arrested and 240 firearms confiscated from various police operations in Caraga Region during entire duration of the election gun ban which ended midnight of June 8, an official report from Police Regional Office 13 shows.

Of the 215 gun ban violators arrested, some 191 persons were civilians, the police record stated.

The list of uniformed personnel arrested for violating the gun ban includes: two police, two soldiers, two government officials, a personnel  from other law enforcement agency, two security guards, one auxiliary combatants, and 14 from private armed groups in the region.

Violators were arrested through checkpoint operations, police patrols, and implementation of search warrant and warrant of arrest, buy busts, and armed encounters.

Topping the list of weapons were pistols with a total of 86, followed by revolvers with 72, and shotgun with 28. The rest were rifles with 15, class A light weapons with 23, class B light weapons with 2, and other improvised/homemade firearms with 14.

RA No. 10591 (Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition) defines Class A light weapons as self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles and light machine guns not exceeding caliber 7.62MM which have fully automatic mode while Class B light weapons are designed for use by two or more persons serving as a crew, or rifles and machine guns exceeding caliber 7.62MM such as heavy machine guns.

Arrested violators are facing charges for violations of Commission on Election gun ban and/or violations of Republic Act 10591 while seized firearms will be subjected to ballistics examination to determine if these were used in the commission of crimes.