SEIZED. Government and law enforcement officials inspect seized firearms during a press briefing at the Palayan City Business Hub in Nueva Ecija on Friday (Aug. 28, 2020). (From left to right) Police Regional Office 3 director Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, PTFoMS executive director Joel Sy Egco and Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas. (Photo by Marilyn Galang)
PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – A total of 111 individuals allegedly involved in various violations of laws and ordinances were arrested in the last nine days of "relentless police operations" in the province, a ranking official said Friday.
Col. Marvin Joe Saro, director of the Nueva Ecija police, said police officers from the province's 27 towns and five cities also seized assorted types of firearms and drugs during the intensified drive called simultaneous anti-criminality law enforcement operations (SACLEO).
Saro presented the confiscated firearms in a press briefing at the Palayan City Business Hub here to Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, director of the Central Luzon Police Regional Office (PRO3).
Sermonia, along with City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas and Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco, executive director of Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), met the media and presented more guns seized from different provinces in the region.
Of the arrested persons, 39 were arrested by virtue of warrants of arrest for various crimes, 10 in anti-illegal gambling operations, and 62 for illegal drugs, Saro said.
These operations, he added, have resulted in the confiscation of PHP12,614 bet money and gambling paraphernalia, 167 sachets of shabu, and seven firearms in reported encounters.
A total of 24 firearms were surrendered under the Balik Baril Program and another 20 for safekeeping, he said.
Sermonia underscored that regional police forces have "successfully" staged anti-crime operations despite their role in implementing rules on quarantine amid coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
"We continue crackdown amid lockdown," Sermonia said as he thanked local government executives and individuals who helped their ranks. (PNA)
