Poll gun ban over

MANILA, Philippines – After keeping their guns indoors for the past five months, licensed gun owners may start bringing their firearms outside their residence starting on Thursday (June 13).

The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced the official lifting of the gun ban, which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) imposed on Jan. 13, on Wednesday night, the end of the election period.

However, Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., the PNP spokesman, said only gun owners with “permit to carry firearms outside residence” (PTCFOR) could transport and bear guns in public places.

“We would like to remind gun owners to be always responsible and observe the regulations stated in their PTCFOR,” Cerbo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“Even if their firearms are licensed, gun owners who do not have PTCFOR will be arrested for violating the law,” he added.

Despite the lifting of the gun ban, he said PNP Director General Alan Purisima has directed all police units nationwide to keep up the intensified operations against loose firearms.

The PNP Firearms and Explosives Division would also continue implementing “Oplan Katok,” the police campaign targeting gun owners who failed to renew the licenses of their firearms, Cerbo said.

“As what our PNP chief has been saying, our campaign to account for all the unlicensed or loose firearms will not end with the lifting of the gun ban,” he said.

In a previous interview, Purisima said the strict implementation of the gun ban and police operations against private armed groups proved effective in minimizing the number of election-related incidents during the May 13 elections.

From 179 cases of election violence recorded during the 2010 elections, Purisima said a total of 81 election-related attacks or conflicts were reported during the five-month election period, or a drop of about 55 percent.

As of June 11, the police had arrested a total of 3,684 persons for violating the gun ban.

Among those arrested were 52 policemen, 23 soldiers and 42 other government officials.

Cerbo said various PNP units had seized a total of 3,578 firearms, over 30,000 bullets, 1,080 bladed weapons and 754 grenades and other explosives.

The police, he added, had filed a total of 2,441 cases against the arrested individuals, but only 207 had been referred to the courts.