Police sources said two Baby Armalite rifles and a Super caliber .38 were confiscated from the bodyguards when their Nissan Patrol car was intercepted by elements of the CPD Station 3 and Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) on Thursday night.
Dela Cruz’s bodyguards – whose names were not immediately available – were brought to the Sangandaan police station for investigation and possible filing of charges for violation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gunban.
But the incident did not reflect on the regular PNP journal prepared daily by the PNP Operations Center at Camp Crame, triggering speculations that there could have been an attempt to cover-up the incident.
Sources from the Quezon City police told The STAR that the police initially received "positive information" that the armed men aboard a Nissan Patrol van from Manila was on its way to northern Luzon.
Since Dec. 15, PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered all police commanders to step up the campaign against Comelec gunban violators and disband armed groups maintained by local politicians to ensure the peaceful conduct of the May 10 elections.