Comelec gun ban starts; cops catch violator in Quezon City

As the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban policy went into effect after midnight Saturday, police checkpoints started netting violators still bringing their firearms. In Quezon City, radio dzBB’s Manny Vargas reported that police manning a checkpoint arrested Rodel Gutierrez, 30, after finding a cal-.45 pistol in his car. Gutierrez was flagged down at a checkpoint on Mindanao Avenue, while he and his wife were in their car, at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday. Police told Gutierrez that while he had a license and permit to carry firearms outside residence for his cal-.45 pistol, the Comelec gun ban renders such license moot during the election period. Gutierrez said he was not aware that it was already Sunday, the start of the 60-day election period. But the police would still file charges against Gutierrez. On Saturday, Metro Manila police chief Director Roberto Rosales vowed to arrest violators of the gun ban, even their own colleagues caught defying the policy. But Rosales also reminded his men to be in uniform always when carrying a firearm, or risk being arrested. “Ngayon pa lang, lahat na ating pulis nakauniporme na. Bawal ang naka-civilian na may baril (This early, our men are wearing their uniforms. They cannot carry firearms if they are in civilian clothes)," he said in an interview on dzRH radio. He also said he has ordered his men to go after members of other law enforcement agencies, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who violate the gun ban. “Huhulihin sila kahit sila kawani ng pulis, Armed Forces of the Philippines at law enforcement agencies (They will be arrested too, even if they are cops, soldiers or law enforcers)," he said. The nationwide gun ban is in effect during the election period, which starts 120 days before the actual date of the elections and 30 days after it. For the 2010 polls, the election period would be from January 10 to June 9. The gun ban applies to everyone except government security forces. The Commission on Elections’ Resolution 1814 bans candidates and private individuals from carrying firearms and hiring bodyguards during the election period. Also covered by the ban are air guns and replications, as well as bladed instruments, hand grenades, and other explosives except for fireworks. Violating the gun ban entails a punishment of six months to one-year imprisonment. - LBG, GMANews.TV