A bad taste in the mouth

President Aquino has once again thrown his support behind one of his cabinet members and stated that Ronald Llamas, Presidential Political Adviser, has the right to own the AK-47 found in his car that was driven by two of his security aides. Llamas has apparently been receiving threats to his safety and that of his family as of late, so the assault rifle is justified. The aides were not authorized by Llamas to bring out the car and the gun when the vehicle rammed a truck along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. Llamas was in Switzerland at the time of the accident. So I guess that’s that. Or should it?

 Does this mean that we can forget about the whole thing, nobody got hurt, we can all go home now? Let’s take Llamas out of the discussion, since he already has a tacit presidential pardon regarding the whole matter. But his men, that’s another thing altogether. The AK-47 assault rifle is registered to Llamas, but he wasn’t with them when the accident happened. Do they still have the right to lug it around in their vehicle without the man they are supposed to protect? And an accident did happen. Damage to property ensued from the said accident. So if anything, the driver of the vehicle, who was probably drunk (the media is silent on this) is accountable for the damages due to reckless imprudence (if I’m not mistaken).

 And what about illegal possession of firearms? The Kalashnikov is registered to Llamas, so only he can wield it if needed, or at the most, his security aides WHEN he is being escorted/protected. The aides have no business being armed like Russian Spetsnaz in the absence of Llamas! But what leaves a really bad taste in the mouth is the “clean-up” done by more of Llamas’ men who arrived at the scene, definitely after being called by their friends. Without saying much, they simply took out everything inside the wrecked, airbags deployed Montero Sport, and sped away, assault rifle in tow, all caught by media cameras. It shows who really are in power nowadays, and that they don’t really care who’s around anymore. Not the media, not the MMDA, nobody. From what I know, one cannot just lift things out of a vehicle that has figured in an accident, especially when there is damage to property.

 Because of this incident, the debate on the owning of firearms and the issuance of Permit To Carry Firearms Outside Residence (PTCFOR) rages on. The problem is interpreting the laws that are currently in place. There are just too many opinions. From the somber Gunless Society to the very vocal ProGun. What has to be done is a review of the current laws and a nationwide information dissemination and interpretation of whatever laws there are concerning firearms. I’ve heard many interpretations on the ‘permit to carry’ rules. Some believe that the words ‘permit to carry’ alone allows them to literally have firearms on their person, and not in bags. There alone is a big question for the PNP. With some senators joining the fray, the PNP should come out, once and for all, with well explained rules and regulations regarding all aspects of owning a firearm. And in plain language, not necessarily in legalese!

This incident cannot just be swept away, like the men of Llamas did that night. If anything, Llamas’ men have to be charged, whether they are already fired or not. Something like this is not expected of the Aquino administration. It just isn’t. And that has me worried. Are we now to accept that every single-digit plated vehicle will have firearms, high-powered or otherwise? The sirens and the lights may be gone, but the weapons sure are in place!