Tacloban airport passenger nabbed for violating gun ban
According to the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEG) on Saturday, the passenger was prohibited from boarding his flight and was nabbed after a routine screening at the airport found in his baggage a replica of a Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun, complete with a magazine.
The PNP-AVSEG noted that this was a violation of Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, in relation to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 11067.
The nationwide gun ban took effect on January 12, coinciding with the start of the election period, and will continue until June 11, 2025.
During this period, the PNP-AVSEG emphasized that the transport of firearms and deadly weapons, including replicas and toy guns, is strictly prohibited.
Toy guns and replicas are included in the list of prohibited items by the Department of Transportation's Office for Transportation Security.
Possession of such items may still also result in being offloaded or arrested even outside the Comelec gun ban period, it added.
'The implementation of these measures is part of our duty to ensure the safety and security of every passenger and flight nationwide. We urge the public to always check their baggage for prohibited items before traveling to avoid inconvenience,' PNP-AVSEG director Police Brigadier General Christopher Abecia said in a statement. —Giselle Ombay/RF, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
10 hours ago
- GMA Network
Printing of official ballots for BARMM polls starts Aug. 24, 2025 — Comelec
The Commission on Elections Monday that it is already in the final stages of preparations for the Bangsamoro parliamentary polls in October as the printing of the official ballots will begin on August 24. 'Kami po ay nasa huling yugto na ng paghahanda dahil po iyong ating aspeto ng teknikal, iyong atin pong aspeto ng mga pagsu-supply ay ready na po tayo. In fact, sa August 24 po ay magsisimula na ang Comelec sa pamamagitan ng National Printing Office ng pag-imprenta ng halos nasa 2.215 million na official ballots,' said Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing. (We are now in the final stages of preparation because our technical and supply aspects are ready. In fact, this August 24, Comelec, through the National Printing Office, will begin printing almost 2.215 million official ballots.) 'Ang atin pong sistema ay tuluy-tuloy na ginagawa ... so local source code ay ready na. Natapos na rin po natin ang field testing at ang mock elections at lahat po ito ay successful,' he added. (Our system is continuously being developed, so the local source code is ready. We've also completed field testing and mock elections, and all of them were successful.) 'So, bukod po sa pag-iimprenta ng balota, ang kasunod na po naming gagawin diyan ay ang training ng ating electoral boards at iyong deployment na lamang po – iyan na po ang mga huling natitirang paghahanda ng Comelec. So, malinaw ang mensahe po, tuloy na tuloy ang October 13 BARMM Parliamentary Elections,' Laudiangco also said. (So, aside from printing the ballots, our next steps will be the training of our electoral boards and then deployment – those are the only remaining preparations for Comelec. Thus, the message is clear: the October 13 BARMM Parliamentary Elections will definitely push through.) Mock elections in Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi The Comelec conducted mock elections last July 26 in several areas in Lanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi in preparation for the first ever parliamentary polls in the region on October 13. The voting started at 7 a.m. and ended at 10 a.m. Only 73 seats will be up for grabs in the October elections as the seven seats previously allocated to Sulu are considered temporarily vacant. The Comelec, however, said that there is no development yet regarding the possibility of redistribution of the allocated seats for Sulu. 'Sabi nga po namin kung maidi-distribute iyong pito ay parang bonus na lamang po ito, karagdagang representation, walang maiiwan sa representasyon sa BARMM. Pero ang sabi nga po namin, kung hindi na po kami makapaghihintay pa beyond July 30 dahil ang katumbas po nito ay baka mabalam ang aming paghahanda at hindi pa matuloy ang October 13,' said Laudiangco. (As we said, if the seven are distributed, it would be like a bonus, additional representation, no one would be left out in the representation for BARMM. But as we also said, we couldn't wait beyond July 30 because the equivalent of that would be a delay in our preparations and the October 13 elections might not push through.) 'So, kaysa po ma-imperil iyong ating October 13 BARMM Parliamentary Elections tuloy na pong halalan doon sa 25 na district representatives at apatnapu na regional, political party representatives po.' (So, rather than imperil our October 13 BARMM Parliamentary Elections, the elections for the 25 district representatives and forty regional, political party representatives will push through.) The Supreme Court in September 2024, upheld the validity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but declared that Sulu was not part of BARMM. The Court denied motions seeking the reversal of the decision in November 2024. The SC ruling necessitated the redistribution of the seven vacated seats originally allocated to Sulu under the Bangsamoro Electoral Code. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- GMA Network
PNP seeks removal of over 1,300 fake, malicious posts on Meta
The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced it has asked Meta to take down 1,372 posts identified as fake or malicious, as part of its intensified cyber-patrolling efforts against disinformation. Speaking at the PNP briefing on Monday, PNP chief Police General Nicolas Torre III said many of the flagged posts target the government, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and the police organization with fabricated stories. 'Wala na yatang makuha ang lehitimong issue itong mga kritiko ng ating gobyerno, lahat mga kritiko ng Presidente kung ano-ano nalang pinagsasabi. Kritiko ng PNP, gagawa na lang ng kwento.' (It seems these critics of our government cannot find any legitimate issue. All critics of the President just say anything they want. Critics of the PNP simply make up stories.) Among those identified was a page called Richie Vlogs, which Torre said will be reported for takedown due to violations of community standards. 'Una, Richie Vlogs, papatake down namin ito sa Meta, is a violation of community standards,' he said. (First, Richie Vlogs—we will have this taken down on Meta, as it is a violation of community standards.) GMA News Online sought out Richie Vlogs for its comment on the matter and will post its reply soon as available. Example of fake content Torre presented one example of fake content circulating online, showing supposed Filipino youths placing chairs on a road, which allegedly caused an accident. However, the PNP chief clarified that the incident did not happen in the Philippines. 'Pinapakita na may mga kabataan na naglagay ng upuan sa gitna ng kalsada. Talagang may naaksidente diyan. May naaksidente diyan, panoorin natin,' Torre stressed. (It shows young people putting chairs in the middle of the road. An accident really happened there. Let's watch it.) He explained that while the video carried Bisaya captions to make it appear local, investigators discovered it was filmed in Indonesia. 'Tapos Bisaya ang nakalagay, ginagawang Bisaya kunwari ay Pilipino pero ang problema ay nasa Indonesia yan. So cyberpatrolling, Indonesia kasi nakuha natin diyan ang plate number. Ang plate number Indonesian plate,' he said. (The captions were written in Bisaya to make it seem Filipino, but the problem is—it was in Indonesia. Through cyberpatrolling, we found that the plate number was Indonesian.) DDS vloggers? The PNP chief also criticized the origin of the misleading material. 'Walang makuha itong mga DDS vloggers. DDS vlogger ang nagkuha niyan, ang nag-post niyan, ang naglagay ng caption ng Bisaya. Wala nang iba diyan kundi DDS vlogger,' he added. (These DDS vloggers have nothing to contribute. It was a DDS vlogger who recorded it, who posted it, and who put the Bisaya caption. No one else but a DDS vlogger.) Torre warned that individuals or groups proven to be behind the creation and spread of fake news could face criminal complaints. The PNP said its cybercrime units will continue monitoring and coordinating with social media platforms to curb the spread of disinformation, which officials warn could endanger public safety and fuel political tensions. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
2 days ago
- GMA Network
BARMM election 90% ready, says COMELEC
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday said it is almost set for the 2025 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections, which are scheduled on Oct. 13, 2025. '90% to 95% na kaming handa (We are 90% to 95% ready),' Comelec chairperson George Garcia told Super Radyo DzBB. 'Gusto natin na igarantsya tuloy na tuloy na tuloy ang Bangsamoro parliamentary elections sa October 13. Meron kasi mga nagdududa na baka ipagliban na naman tulad ng Barangay at SK elections,' he added. (We want to guarantee that the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections will proceed on Oct. 13. Some have have doubts that it will be postponed, like the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).) Garcia estimated about 2.3 million people will cast their votes for the BARMM elections. In February, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law a measure postponing the BARMM elections from May to October. The suspension came months after the Supreme Court, in September 2024, upheld the validity of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but declared that Sulu was not part of BARMM. The Court denied motions seeking the reversal of the decision in November 2024. On Aug. 13, Marcos signed into law a measure postponing the BSKE polls, setting the term of office of all elected barangay and SK officials to four years. The BSKE polls, which were initially set for December 1, 2025, were moved to November 2026. Marcos had noted that the upcoming BARMM elections should be given focus. — RF, GMA Integrated News
