Police directors in northern Luzon and other parts of the country are now giving orders to their men to institute “proactive operations” to prevent outbreak of election-related violence. The Philippine National Police could have done this earlier but then such incidents couldn’t be entirely prevented owing to circumstances in such cases like the killing of San Carlos City Mayor Julian Resuello who was shot while shaking hands with his supporters during a beauty contest.
His death was the latest in a series of political killings in the country showing increasing crimes related to elections. Being “proactive” is different from being “competent.” The police could have prevented a lot of election-related crimes in the country if in the first place there should have been a more “sensible” anti-gun law. There wouldn’t be a lot of killings if civilians don’t hold guns.
There also wouldn’t be killings if law enforcers don’t use their guns for illegal means. There are a lot of civilians toting guns because these are licensed. It had been proven by studies that in countries like the US where there are liberal gun laws, there are a lot of killings. When a teenager or a dysfunctional person could buy a gun off the counter, expect trouble. Election violence is not about asking politicians and their supporters to stop killing each other. Among others, it is a matter of preserving lives through a more responsive law on gun possession.
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