2025 polls gun ban: 86 firearms confiscated, so far
MANILA, Philippines — Eighty six firearms have so far been confiscated since the gun ban for the 2025 midterm elections was imposed, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
PNP data showed that as of 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, it confiscated or recovered 41 unauthorized guns from police response operations, 30 from checkpoints, 10 from buy-bust operations, and four in search warrant executions. One gun was found abandoned.
Thirty one of the 86 guns are revolvers, 12 .45 caliber pistols, 12 .9mm pistols, three shotguns and a rifle. Twenty seven other types of firearms were confiscated.
The PNP arrested 85 individuals for violating the ban.
Central Luzon had the most arrests with 26, followed by Metro Manila with 21, Ilocos region with nine, while Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has four each.
Article continues after this advertisementCentral Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Northern Mindanao each had two.
Article continues after this advertisementBicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Davao Region, Caraga, and the Cordillera Administrative Region each arrested one individual violating the gun ban.
Data from the PNP also showed that among those arrested were
- Three security guards in Cagayan Valley
- One Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel each in Central Luzon and Bicol region
- One Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) personnel in Zamboanga Peninsula
- One appointed government official in BARMM
The election period began last Sunday, January 12 and will end on June 11, 2025.