Total gun and private armies

EDITORIAL

The Commission on Elections warned the total gun ban will start on Jan. 9, a day before the formal start of election period for the May 9 national election seven as the Philippine national Police said traditional poll hot spots include Nueva Ecija, Abra, Masbate, Eastern Samar and a certain area in Cebu.

The Comelec also reminded gun holders that only those with Comelec exemptions may carry firearms, particularly law enforcers who are on official duty.The propagation of loose firearms has been identified as one of the main causes of violence during election period, and according to the poll body, all candidates will not be allowed to hire or bring with them bodyguards who do not possess Comelec gun ban exemptions. No one is exempted and all those qualified candidates are not also allowed to hire private armed men.

The PNP is set to create a task group to track down private armed groups that have been blamed for violent incidents in previous elections, according toPNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez who said the PNP will begin election operations on Jan. 10, start of election period. The Comelec will impose nationwide gun ban until June 8. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, Comelec and PNP will have simultaneous start on Jan. 10 to kick off election operations.

Last October, Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento said the PNP monitored about 71 private armed groups with the onset of campaign season in the run-up to the May polls.He said even members of the administration’s Liberal Party would not be allowed to maintain private armies.

Sarmiento, a former congressman who served as LP secretary general, went on leave from the party after President Aquino appointed him as head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, replacing LP standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II.

“We will not tolerate erring LP candidates if caught with loose firearms and if they are found maintaining private armed groups and violate any laws of the land,” he said, adding the DILG has started coordination among concerned agencies involved in providing security during the national and local elections.

Last month, Sarmiento said the PNP began validating possible areas of concern or hot spots to thwart election-related violent incidents.Marquez has been leading the PNP in establishing feedback mechanism with the Comelec to help ensure peaceful and orderly conduct of the May elections.

The PNP chief said initial validation indicated a downtrend in the number of election hot spots but the PNP continues the effort to prevent election related violent incidents.

“The director for intelligence has the list already divided in three categories, and I think there are seven priority provinces,” he said, adding “in 2013 we had 15 priority provinces.”

Sarmiento said the process of validation is meant to update the status of the political situation in individual localities.