Lawmaker proposes 8-month total gun ban

MANILA, Philippines - A maverick congressman urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday to impose an eight-month total gun ban in connection with the May 2010 elections.

“This will greatly help minimize election-related violence,” Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson told reporters at the Serye Café news forum.

He said most cases of violence during elections are committed with the use of firearms.

“The gun ban should start on Nov. 20, when candidates begin to file their certificates of candidacy, and last until June,” he said.

“It should be total and it should cover all politicians and private citizens, including senators, congressmen, governors, and mayors, and private armies,” he said.

He added that the Comelec should not issue exemptions.

Joson noted that in the past, the Comelec imposed a gun ban but issued exemptions to politicians, government officials and private citizens.

He said if the commission heeds his suggestion, it should see to it that the Philippine National Police is able to enforce the ban nationwide.

The poll body usually imposes a firearms ban at the start of the campaign period until the canvassing of votes.

The 2010 campaign period will run for 90 days and will begin in early February for those running for the Senate and higher offices. For those seeking congressional seats and local posts, the campaign period is 45 days.

In the same forum, Rep. Ariel Hernandez of the party-list group Anak Mindanao urged policemen and soldiers not to allow themselves to be used by powerful politicians.        

They should instead help the Comelec watch over so-called election hot spots and prevent violence and irregularities, he said.

“They should remain neutral and serve the interest of the people, not of politicians,” he said.

Hernandez supported Joson’s proposal for an eight-month total gun ban, saying the Comelec should have the political will to enforce such a ban in many areas of Mindanao where politicians with private armies lord it over.

He added that it is these unscrupulous politicians who initiate violence during elections to disrupt the balloting process so they can cheat and subvert the people’s will.