Motorcyclist in Batangas nabbed for poll gun ban violation

Batangas map. INQUIRER FILES

LUCENA CITY — Police manning a checkpoint in Balayan, Batangas arrested on Tuesday night a motorcycle rider carrying a licensed firearm without permission from the Commission on Election (Comelec).

The Batangas police said in a report on Wednesday, Oct. 25, that while conducting checkpoints in pursuit of the Oct. 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), the police flagged down around 9:30 p.m. three motorcycle riders for not wearing helmets and overloading while traveling along the national highway in Barangay Sampaga.

During a routine inspection, the cops asked one of the motorcycle back-riders identified in the report as alias “Jerome” about the contents of his sling bag. He admitted that it had a .9mm pistol loaded with four bullets inside the bag.

“Jerome,” a resident of Calaca town, showed the government license for the firearm and his permit to carry the gun.

However, he failed to produce a certificate of gun ban exemption issued by the Comelec for the BSKE, which led to his arrest.

The gun ban period started on Aug. 28 and will last until Nov. 29.

The Comelec required licensed gun owners to have Certificates of Authority issued by the poll body to be exempted from the gun ban when outside of their residence.

Violation of the gun ban is an election offense punishable with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years without probation, permanent disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage, according to the Omnibus Election Code.

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