By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic did not hinder the police in Negros Occidental to encourage gun owners to renew their firearms licenses as part of the campaign against loose firearms.
A total of 1,789 gun holder applicants processed their firearms licenses through the License To Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) caravan in the province from 2019 to February 2021.
Based on the record of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), there were 329 gunholders in the province and 1,460 gunholders outside the province who joined the caravan.
Nocppo recorded 209 firearms deposited in police stations in Bago City, San Carlos City, Hinigaran town, Silay City, La Carlota City, Sipalay City, and Nocppo headquarters here, and 120 guns were not deposited to the police, pending the approval of their renewal and application.
Police Lieutenant Abegael Donasco, Nocppo’s deputy information officer, said that there will be another caravan this year, but there has been no schedule yet.
Donasco said it is important for gunholders to renew or apply for a firearm license or else they will be subjected to a police operation.
Donasco said there are still those who failed to renew their licenses because of the overwhelming number of applicants, but they can still process in the next caravan.
