Gun ban in 8 Iloilo towns questioned

ILOILO CITY – The Philippine National Police has imposed a gun ban in eight northern Iloilo towns to curb loose firearms and the rise of criminality in the area.

But the order has been questioned by Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor.

Chief Superintendent Cipriano Querol Jr., Western Visayas police director, said Director General Raul Bacalzo, PNP chief, has approved the suspension of permits to carry or transport firearms outside of residence in the towns of Ajuy, Sara, Estancia, Balasan, Carles, Concepcion, Batad and San Dionisio.

All the towns are located in the fifth congressional district of the province. Only the towns of Barotac Viejo, Lemery and San Rafael of the same district are exempted from the gun ban.

The gun ban which was set to take effect on midnight of July 1 until January 15 next year was approved on July 5.

Querol said only the members of the PNP, military and other law enforcement agencies on official business and wearing the prescribed uniforms would be allowed to carry firearms in the eight towns.

“Our intention is to address the problems of peace and order in the area. The implementation of gun ban will greatly help us achieve that goal,” Querol said in a statement.

He said the gun ban would be implemented fairly in the area.

But Defensor questioned the basis of the selective gun ban.

“This is a wrong and reckless move that has no basis at all,” Defensor told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Sunday.

He said there was no state of lawlessness and rampant criminality in the area that would warrant the gun ban.

Statistics from the Iloilo Provincial Police Office showed that the crime rate in the district from April to June this year had gone down by 40 percent compared to the same period last year and some towns covered by the gun ban have lower crime rates than those excluded, according to the governor.

“If there is a state of lawlessness in the area, this should have been reported in the media already,” he said.

Defensor said the gun ban was “unfair” to those needing security outside their homes including officials with death threats and businessmen who were possible targets of robbery and kidnapping.

The governor said politics could be behind the gun ban but declined to elaborate. The district is among the most contested area in previous elections.

Defensor said he would raise his opposition to the gun ban with the Regional Peace and Order Council and Bacalzo.