CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Police Regional Office 3 launched simultaneous checkpoint operations across the region to intensify election security operations as the election period starts for national and local elective posts.
PRO3 Director Brig. Gen. Jose S. Hidalgo Jr. said that 146 checkpoints were established with nearly 1,200 police personnel deployed, Monday midnight (August 28) for police interdiction operations and gun ban violators as the nationwide COMELEC-imposed gun ban marked its first day.
Hidalgo also urged the public to cooperate with authorities at checkpoints and reiterated his assurance that police personnel will observe policies and procedures, and will uphold their basic rights.
During checkpoints, motorists are advised to Slow Down; Dim their headlights and turn on their cabin lights, and answer promptly if asked by police authorities.
“I have also reminded our personnel to be courteous to motorists and to adhere to general guidelines prescribed in our Revised Police Operational Procedures,” he further stated.
Relatedly, during checkpoint operations in Bataan, two individuals were apprehended. One was arrested in the town of Morong, found in possession of an improvised handgun, two 12-gauge shotgun rounds, three small heat-sealed transparent sachets, and two medium-sized sealed transparent sachets containing white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu weighing more or less 12grams. Another individual was nabbed in the municipality of Hermosa, carrying a caliber .38 firearm loaded with four live ammunition rounds.
The carrying of firearms, other deadly weapons, and explosives as well as its transportation is strictly prohibited from the start of the election period on August 28, 2023, until its end on November 29, 2023.
Stricter penalties ranging from one year to twelve years imprisonment will be meted to all violators. (UnliNews Online)
