Police Colonel Ermer Cinco, chief of the Regional Civil Security Unit Central Visayas (RCSU 7), revealed that a .38-caliber pistol registered to a security agency based in Cebu City may have had its serial number duplicated. The firearm is allegedly the one used in the shooting of students at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on June 22, 2026.
Immediate Coordination and Investigation
According to Cinco, RCSU 7 immediately coordinated with the security agency after obtaining information about the serial number and the agency that owned the firearm. Their investigation found that a firearm bearing the same serial number as the one reportedly used in the Tacloban mass shooting had been deployed with the agency’s security personnel in the province of Bohol.
The RCSU-Bohol Field Unit conducted a post-inspection and confirmed that the firearm was indeed in Bohol and was still being used by one of the agency’s security guards.
Ballistic Examination Ordered
As a result, RCSU 7 ordered the turnover of the firearm for ballistic examination. The results will be compared with the ballistic examination conducted by Police Regional Office Eastern Visayas (PRO 8) to determine which of the two firearms is the original.
“We need to establish which weapon is genuine and which is a duplicate,” Cinco said in a statement.
Deeper Investigation Across Regions
The RCSUs of Western Visayas and Central Visayas have launched a deeper investigation into how the two firearms came to bear the same serial number. Investigators are looking into several possible scenarios behind the duplication.
One possibility is that the original firearm was lost and replaced with another weapon that was given the same serial number. Another possibility is that the duplication was done intentionally to allow the security agency to avoid the cost of registering another firearm with the Philippine National Police.
The incident has raised concerns about the regulation of security agencies and the integrity of firearm registration in the country.
