The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has been conducting “Oplan Katok” operations in line with the Philippine National Police’s (PNP’s) campaign against loose firearms for the coming elections.
In Oplan Katok, NCRPO Director Guillermo Eleazar said police go to the house of gun owners with expired licenses or unlicensed firearms.
The policemen will then knock on the houses of gun owners and remind them to get or renew their permits.
Eleazar said the gun owners will have to temporarily surrender their firearms to the police for safekeeping while in the process of securing papers for their firearms.
Once they are able to renew their licenses, only then will the gun owners be able to retrieve their guns.
“Tayo ay nananawagan sa ating kababayan na kung meron silang baril na expired o unlicensed, they just have to coordinate with the nearest station and kami ang pupunta doon para marecover natin for temporary safekeeping,” Eleazar stated.
“Wala pong kaso at hindi natin sila aarestuhin,” he stressed.
At the same time, the NCRPO chief assured that the peace and order situation in Metro Manila has remained manageable.
This, despite the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s revelation that five cities in the metro — Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Mandaluyong and Pasay — are considered election areas of concern because of poll-related violence recorded in the past.
“Sa kabuuan, ang lahat ng 17 cities at municipality sa NCRPO o dito sa NCR o Metro Manila ay considered na manageable in terms of peace and order,” said Eleazar.
Even when the campaign period for senatorial and party-list candidates started last Tuesday, February 12, Eleazar noted that no election-related incident has been recorded so far in Metro Manila. (Martin A. Sadongdong)