2 nabbed for violating gun ban

Police arrested the other day a Camp Crame policeman and a civilian in Tondo, Manila for possession of unlicensed firearms and for violating the existing gun ban of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Tondo police station chief Superintendent Danilo Estapon identified the violators as Police Officer 1 Joselito Sablay, 36, of 2415 Vitas street, Tondo, and detailed at Camp Crame’s Headquarters Support Service, and civilian Deus Sarmiento, 28, of 311 Lallana street, Tondo.

Estapon said Sablay, formerly assigned at the Western Police District (WPD), yielded an unlicensed caliber .22 magnum loaded with ammunition when he was frisked at a police checkpoint along Northbay, Honorio Lopez Boulevard in Balut, Tondo.

Sablay has also a pending administrative case for grave misconduct at Camp Crame’s Internal Affairs Office, according to Estapon.

Follow-up investigations are being conducted on Sablay to determine his involvement in illegal drugs, Estapon added.

Sarmiento, on the other hand, was nabbed by police operatives for carrying an unlicensed caliber .357 revolver at the corner of Velasquez and Capulong streets, Tondo.

Manila inquest fiscals approved the recommended initial charges of illegal possession of firearms and violation of the Comelec’s gun ban against Sablay and Sarmiento.

As this developed, WPD spokesman Gerry Agunod said policemen are not exempted from the gun ban and had been required to secure permit from the Comelec to carry firearms outside of their residence.

WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong has directed the police to maximize their repressive patrols on Comelec’s identified "hot spots" to preempt terror and violence during the election period. – Nestor Etolle