Total gun ban urged during voters registration in ARMM

Mujiv Hataman

COTABATO CITY, Philippines–Acting Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Monday urged the Commission on Elections to impose a total gun ban during the general registration of voters scheduled next month.

“A total gun ban declaration would prevent any armed intervention by political goons…the practice of using force to intimidate or harass registrations can be avoided,” Hataman said in a statement.

He said partisan armed groups’ undue interference should be contained, particularly during the registration period.

Hataman urged Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes and the commissioners “to pass an urgent resolution imposing total gun ban in ARMM with only the uniformed services of the security sector to be granted exemption and only on case-to-case basis.”

Hataman said electoral reforms are among his priorities as acting governor.

Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, national chair of Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, said she was supporting Hataman’s proposal.

“The registration process is very crucial to ensure what we call CHAMP (Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful and Peaceful) elections in the ARMM,” de Villa told the INQUIRER.

“Once it is tainted, the credibility of the next ARMM polls would become questionable,” she said.

PPCRV volunteers in the ARMM will meet Wednesday in Zamboanga City to map out plans to help ensure a peaceful and clean registration of voters.

PPCRV is the only Comelec-accredited poll watch dog in the region and has been pushing for electoral reforms in the region that earned the reputation as “country’s election cheating capital” due to previous election rigging and electoral fraud.