CAMP OLIVAS — The Police Regional Office 3 launched simultaneous checkpoint operations to intensify election security operations amid the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election (BSKE).
PRO3 director Brig. Gen. Jose Hidalgo Jr. said 146 checkpoints were established with nearly 1,200 police personnel deployed on Monday midnight for police interdiction operations and gun ban violators as the nationwide Comelec-imposed gun ban marked its first day today, August 28, 2023.
Hidalgo 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.
At 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,” said Hidalgo.
Also at a checkpoint in Bataan, two individuals were apprehended.
A man was arrested in Morong town in possession of an improvised handgun, two 12-gauge shotgun rounds, and five transparent sachets of shabu.
Another individual was nabbed in the municipality of Hermosa for carrying a .38 gun loaded with four live bullets.
The carrying of firearms, other deadly weapons and explosives as well as its transportation is strictly prohibited from the start of the election period from August 28 until its end on November 29.
Stricter penalties ranging from one year to twelve years imprisonment will be meted to all violators.