From GMA News (Aug 6): More than 300 police firearms missing in Sulu
A total of 335 long and short firearms issued to police personnel in Sulu were discovered missing after a region-wide internal audit was recently conducted by the Police Regional Office in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (PRO-ARMM).
According to the audit report sent by PRO-ARMM to the PNP leadership in Camp Crame, 1,880 firearms were issued to the Sulu Provincial Police Office (PPO) since last year for its 1,223 uniformed personnel, which means 657 extra firearms issued to the province.
But during the internal audit, PRO-ARMM regional director Chief Superintendent Noel Delos Reyes said only 50 Class A light weapons and 272 small arms were found at the Provincial Supply Accountable Office. The remaining 335 listed by Sulu PPO in its inventory are missing.
"The [Sulu] provincial police is yet to account for 335 firearms listed in its inventory. But they could not be found," Delos Reyes said.
The region-wide audit also revealed discrepancies in firearms distribution, with 228 police personnel in the ARMM found to have more than one issued firearm, contrary to the Philippine National Police's 1:1 police-to-firearm ratio policy.
The PRO-ARMM has already recalled 737 firearms to be reissued to other police offices in the region, especially in Maguindanao, which needs 638 firearms.
However, the PRO-ARMM also found out that the serial numbers of most of the recalled firearms have been defaced or tampered with.
According to the PRO-ARMM report, the serial numbers of 134 Class A weapons (M16, M14, M203) and 46 handguns have been tampered with, while 28 long firearms have defaced serial numbers.
Based on the inventory, 6,741 long and short firearms were issued in the ARMM over the years. The ARMM currently has 6,513 police personnel.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/373658/news/regions/more-than-300-police-firearms-missing-in-sulu
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