Iloilo town mayor, 6 others apply for gun ban exemption

ILOILO CITY – An Iloilo town mayor and six others, mostly officials and family members, have applied for exemptions from a controversial gun ban covering eight northern Iloilo towns.

Mayor Neptali Salcedo of Sara town has asked the Philippine National Police to be exempted from the suspension of permits to transport and carry firearms outside of residence covering his town and that of Ajuy, Balasan, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia and San Dionisio.

The PNP in Western Visayas said Salcedo had cited perennial threats from communist rebels and criminal elements in his petition for exemption.

The others who have applied for exemptions were the mayor’s children Sara Vice Mayor Neptali Salcedo Jr., provincial Board Member Jeneda Salcedo-Orendain and former provincial Board Member Jesus Salcedo. The three others who filed exemptions include Noel Salcedo and Sara municipal secretary James Balsomo I and legal officer James Balsomo.

Salcedo is among the 35 mayors who signed a resolution calling for a recall of the gun ban implemented from July 11, 2011 to Jan. 15, 2012.

The mayors and the Provincial Peace and Order Council of Iloilo had called the suspension order “arbitrary and capricious” saying that it did not undergo consultation with the chief executives.

They also questioned why it was being implemented in only eight of the 11 towns of Iloilo’s fifth congressional district.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor said politics could be behind the selective gun ban but the governor did not give details.

Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr., who represents the fifth district, is a political rival of Defensor and Salcedo.

The congressman’s hometown, Barotac Viejo, is among the three towns excluded from the gun ban.

Tupas has supported the gun ban but has denied being behind it.

Chief Superintendent Cipriano Querol Jr., Western Visayas police director, also denied the allegations.

“There is no politics in this peace initiative. Our recommendation was based on intelligence report, the best tool for any commander in coming up with his plan and decision,” Querol said.