PNP: Commanders liable for gun ban violations of subordinates

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will hold police commanders liable for their subordinates who continue to violate the ban imposed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on guns and other explosives in connection with the coming May 2010 polls. PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said the current number of policemen arrested for violating the gun ban – 40, based on police data — is "unacceptable," and warned police commanders supervising erring cops that they might also face administrative charges due to these violations. "I am serving notice to all police commanders that appropriate administrative sanctions will be meted against those whose subordinates have been arrested in violation of the election gun ban, as a consequence of your (commanders) apparent failure to exercise proper supervision over your men," Verzosa told police regional directors in a command conference last Friday. The police chief was irked by the number of policemen being arrested almost on a daily basis for gun ban violations, saying that these kinds of cops affect the PNP’s “moral ascendancy." "I cannot understand, much less accept the fact why some policemen think that they are above the law. As officers of the law, we all must obey the law, not violate the very same law which we are supposed to enforce," he said. Verzosa likewise instructed Chief Superintendent Ifor Magbanua of the PNP Internal Affairs Service to resolve the cases and hand down sanctions to cops arrested for gun ban violations within 30 days. The Comelec imposed last January 10 a nationwide gun ban in preparation for the upcoming May elections. The gun ban will last until the end of the election period on June 9. - Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMANews.TV