STRICT INSPECTION. Police personnel of Makilala town in North Cotabato province inspect a motorcycle rider passing through the Davao-Cotabato highway on Thursday (Sept. 28, 2023) in connection with the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls. The North Cotabato Police Provincial Office has so far arrested nine individuals possessing firearms since the poll gun ban took effect on Aug. 28, 2023. (Photo courtesy of NCCPO)
KIDAPAWAN CITY – The North Cotabato Police Provincial Office (NCPPO) has temporally transferred to new areas of assignments some 142 personnel related to candidates for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to guarantee "officers are all non-partisan".
Capt. April Rose Soria, NCPPO spokesperson, in an interview Thursday said that the transferred personnel would be reassigned to nearby towns and would continue to render their regular duties, particularly the mandate to achieve peaceful BSKE.
“The transferred officers have understood the intent of the order as a routine every election,” she said.
Arrested gun ban violators
Meanwhile, Soria reported the arrest of nine gun ban violators and the confiscation of 11 firearms in the province since the start of the election gun ban on Aug. 28.
The confiscated firearms included five .45-caliber pistols, a 12-gauge shotgun, a 9mm pistol, two Bushmaster rifles, a .22-caliber revolver, and a .38-caliber pistol.
Without giving specifics, she said Midsayap town topped the list of those nabbed violating the election gun ban. The NCPPO also tapped all its force multipliers to effectively impose the gun ban measure even in the most remote villages, she added.
“All police units throughout the province are actively monitoring their respective areas of responsibility to guarantee public safety," she said. (PNA)
