PRO-3 chief Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, Usec. Joel Sy Egco, Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas and other police officers inspect the seized firearms. Photo by Armand M. Galang
PALAYAN CITY – Over 100 individuals allegedly involved in various violations of laws and ordinances were arrested in the last nine days of “relentless police operations” in Nueva Ecija.
Col. Marvin Joe Saro, newly installed Nueva Ecijapolice director, said police from the province’s 27 towns and five cities seized assorted types of firearms and drugs during the intensified drive calledSimultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operations.
Saro presented the confiscated items at a press briefing at the Palayan City Business Hub here Friday to Police Regional Office – 3 director Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, along with Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas and Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco, executive director of Presidential Task Force on Media Security.
Of the arrested persons, 39 were arrested by virtue of warrants of arrest for various crimes, 10 in anti-illegal gambling operations, and 62 for illegal drugs, Saro said.
These operations, he added, resulted to the confiscation of P12,614 bet money and gambling paraphernalia, 167 sachets of shabu, and seven firearms in reported encounters.
A total of 24 firearms were surrendered under theBalik–Baril Program and another 20 for safekeeping, he said.
Sermonia underscored the success of regional police forces in conducting anti-crime operations despite their role in implementing the rules on quarantine amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
“We continue crackdown amid lockdown,” Sermonia said as he expressed his gratitude to local government executives and individuals who helped their ranks in keeping peace and order in the region.
