The Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) has confiscated a total of 296 firearms for violation of the election gun ban from January to March this year.

NOPPO Information Officer Police Lt. Stephen Polinar reported that a police team also arrested 10 persons carrying guns outside their residence.

During the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting in Dumaguete City,

Polinar said most of these arrests happened during the 283 patrol and checkpoint operations conducted by NOPPO.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) also conducted a series of Commission on Election (Comelec) checkpoints starting January 12 with a total of 17,095 operations, 15,809 foot patrols, 16,693 mobile patrols, and 17,987 “Oplan Bakal Sita” campaign in the first quarter of this year.

“The checkpoints were established in strategic areas in different towns and cities in the province as part of security protocols to deter violence ahead of the polls,” said Polinar.

PNP has emphasized that the security protocols are for public safety, in line with Comelec’s directives.

In the same meeting, NOPPO also reported that 155 drug personalities were arrested and 1,563.42 grams of shabu were seized with a total value of more than P10 million.

Under Republic Act 9287 or the campaign against illegal gambling, the police nabbed 358 individuals with total bet money confiscated at P31,359.

“The crime situation in the province has shown both progress and challenges. However, the general outlook for peace and security has improved significantly, based on data from the Crime Reporting Analysis System,” said Polinar. (PIA-7 Negros Oriental)