By VICENTE ALEJANDRO
CATBALOGAN CITY – Four persons, three of them murder suspects, and several loose firearms and ammunition were seized in a week-long operation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Samar ahead of the elections.
The PNP in Eastern Visayas (PNP-8) conducted the operations in the hinterlands of the first district of Samar to confiscate loose guns and rid the area of private armed groups as part of the preparations for secure and fair elections on May 13.
Samar’s first district is comprised of Calbayog City and the municipalities of Gandara, Almagro, Pansanghan, Matuginao, Sta. Margarita, San Jorge, Tagapul-an, Tarangnan and Sto. Niño.
Region 8 Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Elmer R. Soria said the arrested men could have easily been tapped by unscrupulous politicians for their own interest in the coming elections while the seized firearms could be used for terroristic and other criminal activities.
The successful operation, he said, would help ensure peaceful and fair elections in Samar province, which is on the list of election hotspots of the Department of Interior and Local Government.