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Comelec OKs 20 guns for Pacquiao


It pays to be a Manny Pacquiao. On Tuesday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) approved the boxing champ’s request for exemption to the gun ban, giving the go-signal for his security detail to carry 20 firearms during the span of the election period. Comelec Commissioner Nicomedo Ferrer said that with Pacquiao’s current stature and earnings from his ring conquests, it was deemed necessary that his application was approved. “I approved it by myself," Ferrer told reporters. Ferrer said that being a “high-profile personality living in a troubled area" would be enough reason acceding to the boxing sensation’s request. Pacquiao hails from General Santos City, a perennial target of terrorist attacks in southern Philippines. Last week, Pacquiao visited the Comelec head office in Manila to pay a courtesy call to poll chief Benjamin Abalos and at the same time, file his application for gun ban exemption. It was not specified, however, what kind of firearms were given exemption by the poll body. Ferrer said that apart from Pacquiao, several known personalities have applied for exemption but were not as lucky as the Filipino champ. Refusing to disclose identities, Ferrer said a son of a Metro Manila mayor was denied of his application because he merely cited his being a councilor as reason for applying for gun ban exemption. As of Tuesday, Ferrer estimated the number of gun ban exemptions to be about 17,000. Of the figures, 6,000 have been granted exemption as these were from military and police personnel. On the other hand, about 1,000 applications have been rejected. - GMANews.TV
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