Gun ban for barangay, SK polls starts on Sept 25

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will start implementing a strict gun ban on September 25, exactly a month before the October 25 barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections. The PNP spokesman, Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., said the gun ban for the October 25 elections will last from September 25 to November 10. Cruz said the police will be as strict in implementing the gun ban as they did months before the May 10 national elections. “Katulad ng nangyari noong May 10 elections ang patutupad ang total gun ban. Lahat na baril ay bawal pwera baril ng member ng law enforcement agencies, Philippine National Police at Armed Forces of the Philippines. Kahit na sila ay member ng AFP, PNP or law enforcement agency, kailangan silang on duty at nakauniporme at may ID na nakikita," Cruz said in an interview on dzRH radio. (We will be very strict in implementing the total gun ban. Only members of the PNP, AFP and law enforcement agencies will be allowed to carry firearms, and even then, they should be in uniform and on duty.) Meanwhile, he reminded PNP personnel not to take the firearm ban for granted, saying they may face penalties if they are caught with their firearms while they are not in uniform or on duty. “Di pupuwede porket police nakasibilyan pwede magdala ng baril (You cannot just bring out your firearms if you are in civilian clothes or while you are not on duty)," he said. Cruz said the gun ban for the May 10 elections helped lessen the number of election-related violent incidents. “Nakikita natin maganda ang maidudulot ng firearms ban pagdating ng barangay at SK elections (We expect the firearms ban to contribute positively to the elections)," he said. –VVP, GMANews.TV