PNP seizes 1,085 guns from security firms

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has seized at least 1,085 firearms from private security agencies in Metro Manila with expired licenses to operate.

PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde yesterday presented some of the assorted long and short firearms confiscated since last year, when they intensified their law enforcement operations as part of security preparations for the midterm elections.

Albayalde said 1,025 firearms were confiscated from 96 security agencies in 2018.

In January this year alone, around 60 firearms were seized from 15 security agencies with closure orders after failing  to renew business licenses before the PNP Supervisory Office on Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA).

“We expect to account for more firearms from 356 other private security agencies that are the subject of similar cease to operate orders,” he said in a news briefing.

Chief Superintendent Noli Romana, SOSIA director, said they had to implement the closure orders after the security agencies failed to renew their licenses to operate.

“Most of the security agencies (failed to renew for one year). So the standard operating procedure in our memorandum to them is to turn over the firearms,” he said in an interview with reporters.

The SOSIA has initiated an investigation of the security agencies for administrative violations.

“We will just ban them or terminate all their licenses,” Romana said.

Romana said the security agencies claimed they had not surrendered their weapons because of the difficulty of transporting them.