MANILA, Philippines ? The Commission on Elections has approved a total gun ban for the 2010 elections, implementation of which will start on January 2010, an official said on Monday.

Commissioner Lucenito Tagle made the pronouncement during the anniversary of the Civil Security Group at Camp Crame, adding that the Comelec has only to lay out the provisions of the total gun ban, in close coordination with the Philippine National Police.

?We believe that that is the only way to prevent [election-related] violence,? he added in an interview.

PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa, in a separate interview, said that among the features of the total gun ban included ?only those mandated by law should be allowed to carry firearms in proper uniform and in the performance of official functions.?

The proposed gun ban also contains a provision limiting the number of security escorts per candidate to two.

?And if there are those that are having lots of threats, they can request for additional protective agents, but all of them must be in uniform also and must be in the company of those in uniform or uniformed personnel,? Verzosa added.

Tagle said that the Comelec en banc was set to meet Tuesday to draft the guidelines on the total gun ban.

?We will also be submitting our assessment on the election hotspots. We don?t want, as early as now, to term some areas as hotspots because there are lots of factors that should be considered. The assessment should be based, mainly, on the last two elections and it will somehow change upon the filing of candidacy because we have to check also the contending parties, the personalities that will be involved. So a continuing assessment will be involved,? Verzosa said.