The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has seized 65 loose firearms and eight explosives from illicit circulation, marking a significant setback to criminal elements nationwide.
The accomplishment was recorded in the first half of June 2026 under the CIDG’s intensified implementation of “OPLAN PAGLALANSAG OMEGA,” in line with the focused program thrusts of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Police General Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr., aimed at sustaining an aggressive campaign against loose firearms.
CIDG Director PMGEN Robert AA Morico II reported that from June 1 to 15, 2026, the unit executed a total of 17 search warrants and 27 buy-bust operations targeting violators of Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act nationwide.
The 15-day synchronized operations led to the arrest of 44 suspects and the recovery of various high-risk armaments, including two light weapons, 63 small arms, and eight explosives or grenades.
Among the notable operations were search warrant executions conducted by the CIDG Bacolod City Field Unit and the CIDG Batangas Provincial Field Unit, which accounted for a total of 10 loose firearms.
On June 9, 2026, from 6:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m., the CIDG Bacolod City Field Unit, together with other operatives, implemented a search warrant in Barangay Bantayan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, resulting in the seizure of five unlicensed firearms: a .45 pistol, a .357 revolver, a .22 revolver, a homemade revolver, and an improvised 12-gauge pistol-type shotgun.
Meanwhile, on June 12, 2026, at around 2:10 a.m., the CIDG Batangas Provincial Field Unit conducted a raid in Barangay Inosluban, Lipa City, Batangas, yielding five loose firearms in a single operation: one 9mm submachine gun rifle, one .45 pistol, one .38 caliber pistol, one improvised pistol, and one improvised shotgun.
CIDG leadership commended all Special Operating Units as well as regional, provincial, district, and city field units involved in the nationwide operation, emphasizing that the number of confiscated weapons underscores the agency’s sustained campaign against illegal firearms.
“The confiscation and removal of these instrumentalities of violence from public circulation significantly preempts violent crimes, contract-killing, and gun-for-hire operations,” the CIDG Director stated.
The CIDG reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing the law, tracking unregistered firearms and explosives, and dismantling criminal networks to protect the public and preserve national peace.