ILOILO City – Anyone in possession of loose firearms will be arrested, warned the Iloilo Police Provincial Office.
They include those keeping guns with expired licenses, stressed Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba, IPPO director.
Of the 10,000 gun holders in the province, 2,000 have either renewed their licenses or turned over their weapons to the police pending the processing of their licenses, Tayaba said, citing IPPO records.
Officers will raid the houses of those who have not yet renewed their licenses but continue to keep their weapons with them, warned Tayaba.
“Gun holders with expired gun licenses are considered in possession of loose firearms. We have to operate against them,” he stressed.
“But if they surrender their weapons to the police, they will not be arrested,” said the police official.
The IPPO fears loose firearms – illegally manufactured ones or those with expired licenses, among others – will be used by assassins and criminal gangs.
“Hindi malayo na gagamitin ng mga kriminal itong mga baril,” said Tayaba. “Responsible gun holders will secure the necessary permits to make the ownership of their weapons legal.”/PN
