ILOILO City – Violators of the gun ban in Western Visayas have already reached 421 since the start of the election period on Jan. 13, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
Two of these violators are members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, PRO-6 records showed.
PRO-6 spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong identified the PNP personnel as Patrolman Richard Rites, who was arrested in Bago City, Negros Occidental last month. He carried a firearm without securing an exemption letter from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Malong said.
Another violator was Private First Class Jonard Vergo of North Cotabato. Vergo was nabbed around 4 p.m. on May 1 for carrying a .45-caliber pistol while taking photos of a rally in Barangay 4, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Vergo is assigned in the 15th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division based in Negros Occidental.
“So far one police officer and one soldier violated the Comelec gun ban. But most violators were civilians,” said Malong. “We expect that the number will increase since the midterm elections will be in two weeks.”
The other violators were 406 civilians, six security guards, three government employees, three “threat group” members, and one from another law enforcement agency, which the PRO-6 did not identify.
Malong warned gun owners without exemption from Comelec to refrain bringing their firearms outside of residence or “we have to arrest them.”
“We know that there are some local candidates handling their personal security who have no exemption from Comelec,” she added.
The election gun ban prohibits “bearing, carrying or transporting firearms or other deadly weapons in public places, including any building, street, park, private vehicle or public conveyance, even if licensed to possess or carry the same, unless authorized in writing by the Commission.”
It takes effect until June 12, the end of the election period./PN
