MANILA – More security guards have been arrested for carrying firearms amid the nationwide election gun ban, data released by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday showed. 

Of the 250 arrested as of Monday, eight were security guards nabbed in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, and Cordillera Administrative Region. 

Col. Randulf Tuaño, chief of the PNP-Public Information Office, said the PNP is coordinating with security agencies to remind their personnel of the existing gun ban. 

READ: 30 nabbed in election gun ban, 80 firearms seized -- PNP

READ: 85 gun ban violators arrested so far -- PNP

"Ang naging sistema ng mga security guards dati noong hindi pa umiiral ang Comelec gun ban checkpoints, inuuwi nila 'yong armas nila lalo," said Col. Randulf Tuaño, head of the PNP-Public Information Office.

(Before the Comelec gun ban checkpoints were implemented, security guards would often bring their firearms home.)

"Ilang security guards na ang kinasuhan natin. Ang karaniwang sinasabi nila is nakalimot sa pag-uwi ng mga armas na issued sa kanila," he added. 

(Several security guards have already been charged, and their common reason is that they forgot to bring back the firearms issued to them.)

Some of the arrested were two foreign nationals, a military, two members of other law enforcement agencies, while the rest were civilians. 

A total of 255 firearms were confiscated in at least 60,778 checkpoints.