Comelec may impose gun ban early

MANILA, Philippines — A nationwide gun ban may be imposed earlier amid the spate of killings of local government officials. 

James Jimenez, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman, said imposing a gun ban ahead of the election period is likely to prevent a bloody midterm elections.

“Maraming kokontra diyan (many will resist). But again like I said it’s not out of the question, it’s not a hard no,” Jimenez said in a forum yesterday.

Jimenez said if necessary, the Comelec could draft and recommend the early imposition of the gun ban in connection with next year’s elections.

“If we will seek a way to tighten implementation, that’s feasible… we’ll suggest it and see how it would be carried out by the Philippine National Police,” he said in Filipino.

But Jimenez stressed the need to balance the rules for the effective implementation of the gun ban.

“Certainly there must be a balancing of interest,” he pointed out, indicating this can be tweaked for the good of the majority.

Jimenez said the Comelec is hoping that the declining trend in election-related violence will continue in the coming polls.

Election-related violence has steadily dropped since 2010, Jimenez noted, adding the figure during the last barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls declined by over 50 percent.

However, Jimenez said, the Comelec cannot also totally discount the possibility that the coming elections may turn bloody considering the spate of killings.

He admitted there are instances during the elections when the campaign becomes so intense and some take advantage of their position by eliminating the competition.