ILOILO City – More than half of Western Visayas’ 3,389 barangays have yet to turn over a single loose firearm despite an intensified police campaign that has already pulled 1,735 guns out of communities across the region.
Data from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) showed that as of 6 a.m. on September 14, firearms had been surrendered from 1,639 barangays, leaving 1,750 barangays — or 51.64 percent — without a recorded turnover.
This placed the regional compliance rate under PRO-6’s One Barangay, One Firearm initiative, also known as RTT 3389, at 48.36 percent more than a month after the campaign was launched on August 1.
The figures underscore the challenge confronting police as they attempt to expand the campaign beyond barangays that have already responded and reach communities where no loose firearm has so far been surrendered.
PRO-6 regional director Police Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño, however, cautioned against judging the campaign solely by the number of firearms collected within a given period.
“There are still municipalities that have not completed their turnover or disposition of firearms,” Tuaño said.
“This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. This is only the beginning, and it will continue,” he added.
Tuaño has directed police commanders to sustain their engagement with barangay officials, particularly in communities where the campaign has yet to produce a firearm turnover.
“I told our commanders that this is not a one-day or one-night operation. They need to continue explaining the program to the barangay officials so they can help even more,” he said.
ILOILO LEADS GUN TURNOVER
Iloilo province accounted for the bulk of surrendered firearms, with 1,018 guns turned over from 982 of its 1,721 barangays.
The province registered a 57.06-percent compliance rate, although 739 barangays still had no recorded firearm surrender.
Tuaño singled out Iloilo’s 5th District, describing it as “leading”.
In Iloilo City, 111 firearms were surrendered from 97 of its 180 barangays, translating to a 53.89-percent compliance rate.
Guimaras posted the highest compliance rate in Western Visayas at 62.24 percent, with 61 of its 98 barangays recording firearm turnovers.
Aklan followed with 53.52 percent, while Capiz registered 39.53 percent.
Antique had the lowest compliance rate at 23.22 percent, with only 137 of its 590 barangays recording surrendered firearms.
Across Western Visayas, 35 police stations have already achieved 100-percent compliance.
NO SURRENDER DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN A LOOSE GUN
PRO-6 clarified that the One Barangay, One Firearm benchmark does not presume that every barangay has an undocumented firearm.
A barangay without a recorded surrender may have no known loose firearm, police may not have identified one, or firearm holders may not yet be willing to surrender their weapons.
The available figures do not establish which of these circumstances applies to the 1,750 barangays without recorded turnovers.
PRO-6 said the campaign instead seeks to locate loose firearms where they exist and encourage their voluntary surrender or lawful disposition through cooperation among police, barangay officials and residents.
Tuaño said police have received no reports of barangay officials refusing to cooperate with the initiative.
“We have not received any report like that, so the PRO-6 is also thankful,” he said.
“This shows that our barangay officials continue to cooperate with our programs to remove loose firearms from the communities,” he added.
Tuaño stressed that removing undocumented firearms from communities is ultimately a crime-prevention measure.
“We know that firearms are one of the primary instruments used in crime,” he said.
He added that the campaign also demonstrates the importance of building public trust in law enforcement.
“The Philippine National Police personnel in Region 6 have one goal, and that is also the goal of our fellow citizens who are cooperating with us,” Tuaño said.
“This is where the community-based approach comes in. They believe in their police because they see that we are sincere in our program to reduce crime here in Western Visayas,” he added./PN