Cops arrest 10 gun ban violators since Jan 14

A total of 10 men have been arrested in Cebu City for violating the Commission on Elections gun ban since its implementation last January 14.

The Cebu City Police Office said that the arrested men this February have been linked to robbery cases in the city, while those arrested last month were caught in possession of firearms at police checkpoints.

The February arrests came as a consequence of police manhunt against suspects in a series of robbery cases that struck the city this month.

Last February 8 at barangay Danglag in Consolacion, the City Police Theft and Robbery Section team, in tandem with the Consolacion Police, was on manhunt of suspected robbers and, in the process, caught five men allegedly in possession of guns and ammunitions.

The five were however found to be suspects in highway robberies in the city. They were Jaime Sta. Ana, 37, Roland Paglinawan, 24, and Rogelio Paglinawan Sr. and his sons Rogelio Jr, 37, and Allan, 24. The police seized from their possession .38 caliber revolvers and 24 live ammunitions.

Last February 14, joint teams of homicide and TRS policemen arrested three men who were deemed suspects in the robbery and shooting of a Korean female tourist at barangay Banilad, four days earlier.

The three suspects, Jonmie Merino, Adrian Lim, and Ramil Pelicano, were found also indicted for violation of the Comelec gun ban due to possession of a .22 revolver that the police seized from them.

It was only Lim and Pelicano who were allegedly involved directly in the robbery of the Korean but Merino was also included because he admitted that he was the one who kept the gun that the two left for him to either sell or pawn.

The seventh man arrested this month for violating the gun ban was Alfred Mara-Mara, a man who has the reputation of being a toughie at sitio Laguerta in barangay Lahug. The residents tipped off the police that he was armed while roaming the area last Thursday evening.

The police seized from him a .38 caliber revolver with five ammunitions, and an improvised sling shot and arrow locally called "indian pana." It was found later on that he has a pending robbery case at the Regional Trial Court.

The Philippine National Police at Camp Crame released a report the other day saying that a total of 527 violators were arrested nationwide, from January 14 to February 14, for violating the Comelec gun ban.

Of these violators, 490 were civilians, 20 were policemen personnel, nine were military personnel, five were government officials, and three were members of law enforcement agencies.

The nationwide gun ban is in effect until June 13, this year. - Flor Z. Perolina/RAE