President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, May 3, said members of the police and military should “automatically be exempted” from the gun ban imposed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In his pre-recorded Talk to the People aired on Tuesday, Duterte said members of the police and military would have difficulties in securing clearances to carry firearms, saying they would have no time to process them.
“Getting individual clearances from the Comelec is a really bad idea,” Duterte said.
“I am just advising Comelec through this program, kasi it is my stand na mahirapan kase ang isang pulis to secure whatever clearances needed in the bringing of his handgun or rifle for that matter,” he added.
He stressed that it is in the police and military duty “to maintain law and order whether it is election time or not.”
“After the elections there is still a possibility of violence before, during, and after a certain period. So it is not time to [impose] so many requirements,” Duterte said.
The statement came after some policemen and military men were arrested at the Comelec checkpoints which Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año earlier clarified that those were isolated incidents. VC/gb
