THE Philippine National Police (PNP) will continue to provide full investigative support to the National Prosecution Service to establish airtight cases against persons arrested for violation of the Omnibus Election Code and other laws during the just concluded 152-day election period for the 2022 National and Local Elections.
“While it is rightful to declare the 2022 elections as generally peaceful and orderly, the law must be applied to all those who willfully violated election laws through prohibited acts,” PNP Officer-in-Charge, Police Lieutenant General Vicente D Danao Jr. said.
The PNP OIC was referring to the 3,436 cases filed by the PNP against persons arrested for violation of the gun ban, liquor ban, and for vote buying and vote selling.
As the election period officially concluded on midnight of June 8th, the PNP has accounted for a total of 3,829 arrested persons for various violations of COMELEC Resolutions from January 9 through June 8, 2022.
“The law enforcement pillar of the Criminal Justice System has effectively discharged its function to arrest violators of the law, the next step is to ensure ‘successful prosecution’ of the offenders,” Danao said.
Those arrested comprise of 3,651 violators of the Gun Ban, 128 violators of the Liquor ban and 50 suspects in election fraud for alleged vote-buying or selling.
Among arrested Gun Ban violators were 50 police and military personnel, 61 security guards, 3,513 civilians, and 27 others.
During the entire 152-day election Gun Ban period, the PNP confiscated an assortment of 2,812 firearms, 17,401 rounds of assorted live ammunition, 140 explosive devices, and 1,165 bladed deadly weapons, records culled by the PNP Command Center showed.
“By taking away these instruments of violence, crime, and oppression from the hands of unauthorized individuals, criminal elements and partisan armed groups, the PNP ably ensured safe and secure elections, free from imminent threats to peace,” the PNP-OIC said.
“The huge hoard of confiscated firearms, ammunition and explosives alone is enough firepower to arm a sizable force that can pose a very serious threat to peace and security,” Danao said.
This factor of going hard against firearms contributed significantly to the reduction of election-related violent incidents during the 2022 polls, he added.
Danao noted that during the 2022 election period, only 27 validated Election-Related Incidents were recorded, which pales in comparison with the 133 ERI recorded in 2019 and 166 ERI in 2010.
The PNP-OIC further explained that the crime environment during the 2022 election period showed a significant decrease of 59,115 or 41.75% in the number of Total Peace and Order Index (POI) compared with the period in 2016. The number of focus crimes also went down by 42,616 or 73.98%, he added.
