MANILA: The nationwide gun ban will start on Sunday (Jan 12), as the election period begins for the May 2025 vote, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
The imposition of a gun ban is aimed at ensuring peace and order, as the government believes it could lessen gun-related violence during the upcoming midterm polls.
“This coming Sunday (Jan 12), is the start of the election period. We remind the public that we will start our nationwide gun ban on the same day,” PNP spokesperson Brig Gen Jean Fajardo said in mixed Filipino and English during a press conference on Monday.
Weeks ago, PNP Chief Gen Rommel Marbil ordered intensified efforts against private armed groups and loose firearms in line with initiatives to ensure the conduct of a peaceful and orderly election this year.
Based on the PNP’s January to November 2024 data, police officers arrested 8,628 people for violating the Firearm and Ammunition Regulation Act.
The PNP said 2,033 violators were arrested in Metro Manila, 979 in Central Luzon, and 906 in Central Visayas.
It also said that authorities seized 25,240 loose firearms – mostly from Central Visayas (3,951), Western Visayas (3,023), and Metro Manila (2,175).
The PNP likewise reassigned 1,308 police officers, whose relatives would be running in the election on May 12.
The PNP said reassignment of police officers with blood ties to candidates is a “normal practice” in the institution as a measure to prevent compromising situations during elections.
Reassignment of police officers were also done during Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in 2023. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
