Over 1,000 loose firearms seized in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  - Police authorities in the Zamboanga peninsula seized 1,125 firearms under its campaign this year to eliminate loose firearms in the region.

The number of recovered loose firearms this year was  more than six times higher than the  187 loose firearms recovered last year,  according to Police Regional Office 9 (PRO) director Chief Superintendent Juanito Vaño.

Vaño said the implementation of the Oplan (operational plan) ‘bakal’ , ‘katok’, and ‘sita, led them to the recovery of more loose firearms this year.

He said the campaign was a result of the directive of Police Director General Alan Purisima to implement the new gun control law that aimed to account all firearms, including those with registered and expired licenses.

Meanwhile, Vaño said the PRO9 operation also led to the arrest of 1,923 wanted persons this year, including the  capture of a number of suspected Abu Sayyaf members.

He said the arrest of the wanted criminals also led  to the release of rewards amounting to P3 million under the memorandum order of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).