ICPO wants gun ban during 2012 Dinagyang Festival

ILOILO CITY ,Philippines  — The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) is planning for total gun ban enforcement in the city before, during, and after the celebration of the Dinagyang Festival, which will have its highlights on January 21-22, next year.

Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, ICPO director, said he is now drafting a memorandum for the temporary suspension of permit to carry firearms outside of residence (PTCFOR) during the festival but the length of its enforcement is still being studied. “It could range from one to two weeks,” he said.

The memorandum will be given to Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog for endorsement before it would be submitted to the office of PNP Chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome for approval.

Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, Jr., Police Regional Office-6 director, however said there could be some exception on the gun ban. “On my level, I could allow a shootfest, which is part of the Dinagyang,” he said.

Like this year’s enforcement, the 2012 ban will compel all law enforcement officers not to carry their government-issued firearms when off-duty or not in proper uniform. Similarly, those exempted would be members of the police and the military, and the NBI performing official duty and wearing their agency-prescribed uniform.

Valerio said that the proposal is a matter of pre-emptive measure. “The total gun ban for the festival is similar to that of the total gun ban during the past elections. We have seen how effective the total gun ban was in ensuring honest, orderly and peaceful elections; we are confident that it will also make the conduct of our festivals very successful,” he said.