ILOILO – The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) has accounted for 1,312 firearms with expired or unrenewed registrations across Iloilo Province as part of the Police Regional Office 6’s (PRO-6) campaign to locate registered firearms and ensure compliance with firearms regulations.
Of the accounted total, 240 are long firearms and 1,072 are short firearms, according to IPPO director Colonel Bayani M. Razalan.
Razalan said locating gun owners remains one of the challenges of the campaign, as many have relocated, moved abroad or could no longer be contacted.
“Some firearm owners are already abroad, making it difficult for us to locate or communicate with them. Others have expired licenses and need to be visited. Many have also changed addresses, while some can no longer be located,” Razalan explained.
He added that several former uniformed personnel previously assigned to Iloilo had used their former camp addresses when registering their firearms. After being reassigned to other units, authorities found it difficult to locate them through their old addresses.
The accounting drive forms part of PRO-6’s Accounting and Disposition of Firearms with Expired Registration (ADFER) campaign, operationally identified as Project TALA, or Tracking, Accounting and Lawful Disposition of Firearms with Expired Registration.
PRO-6, under Regional Director Brigadier General Randulf T. Tuaño, reported that the campaign has accounted for more than 27,000 firearms with expired or unrenewed registration across Western Visayas.
Project TALA aims to locate registered firearm owners, verify the status of their firearms and facilitate compliance with existing firearms laws and regulations.
Tuaño emphasized that public cooperation is essential to the campaign, which seeks not only to account for firearms but also to prevent possible incidents of violence.
“Our goal is not simply to account for firearms, but to prevent incidents of violence before they happen. We encourage the public to continue cooperating with Project TALA and immediately report to the nearest police station any information concerning illegal firearms. The safety of our communities is a shared responsibility,” Tuaño said.
PRO-6 assured that it will continue strengthening coordination with local government units, barangays and other partner agencies to sustain the campaign and support peace and order efforts across the region./PN
