ILOILO City – The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) gun ban, which began on Aug. 28 for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, will end at 11:59 p.m. tonight.
“Ma-back to normal na kita kay ma-end na ang aton election period,” Jonathan Sayno, Election Assistant II of Comelec-Iloilo City, told Panay News.
Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) data showed that as of Nov. 24, there were 30,308 checkpoints conducted in the region, 135 people were arrested, and 107 firearms were confiscated.
Sayno thanked the PRO-6, the Philippine Army, and the Philippine Coast Guard for their vital role in effectively implementing the gun ban and in keeping the elections generally peaceful.
“Manami ang aton election diri sa Iloilo City, nangin matawhay kag tanan na-proklamar kag naka-assume na ang tanan nga mga kandidato,” he added.
Gun ban violation is considered an election offense that carries a penalty of one to six years imprisonment without the possibility of probation and results in one’s loss of the right to vote and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Comelec Resolution 10918 stated that during the election period, “no person shall employ, avail himself/herself of, or engage the services of security personnel or bodyguards, whether or not such security personnel or bodyguards are regular members or officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), other law enforcement agencies of the government, or from a private security service provider, unless authorized by the Commission, through the Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns or the Regional Joint Security Control Center in case of a Temporary Authority-Security Detail.” The President, Vice President, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), the Senate President, all incumbent senators, the House of Representatives Speaker, all members of the House, and all justices of the SC, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals are exempt from the ban.
Also included in the exemption list are all judges of the regional, municipal, and metropolitan trial courts; the ombudsman, deputy ombudsman, and investigators and prosecutors of the ombudsman; the prosecutor general, chief state prosecutor, state prosecutors, and prosecutors of the Department of Justice; and officials and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Likewise given automatic exemption are Cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries; all election officers; provincial election supervisors; and regional election directors./PN
