Here we are again listening to explanations on the latest of President Duterte's statements. According to the Palace, the arming of civilian anti-crime groups to help fight criminality as suggested by the president is not an official policy just yet. At first, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar agreed but immediately followed it with an explanation the guns would not come from the PNP. He said civilians can buy their guns as long as they go through the legal processes of buying and owning a gun. Of course, Sen. Dela Rosa, the former PNP chief who carried out a bloody campaign against illegal drugs, agreed.
Not surprisingly, many objected to Duterte's new statement. Senator Lacson said providing guns to civilians without the proper training and mindset might backfire. I for one believe it may cause more senseless killings. Many other lawmakers and groups have likewise opposed and criticized the idea. If policemen who supposedly have the proper training in handling guns get drunk and start killing, what more the untrained, ordinary civilians?
It is truly a disaster waiting to happen should this be implemented. It's frightening to know who these people are. I thought the PNP was opposed to allowing barangay captains to be armed after the shooting incident on Shaw Boulevard? The police should be stricter on gun purchasing and ownership, especially in issuing permits to bring them out of their homes. Not everyone should be allowed to own a gun. We have seen the likes of Jonel Nuezca, Hensie Zinampan, Sherwin Rebot, and Harold Mendoza, supposedly trained law enforcers getting inebriated and then killing for the stupidest of reasons. Drunk, arguing, defeated in an arm-wrestling match, long-standing arguments are just some of the reasons these so-called officers killed their victims. I can see an exponential increase in the number of senseless killings if anti-crime groups civilians are deputized by the government to carry guns in their name. I see them bragging and showing off their gun, intimidating just about anyone, and killing when drunk. The government and the PNP would do well to think very carefully about this proposal. Ordinary citizens may be at risk or in grave danger. It may not be enough for the government to say those allowed to arm themselves will undergo training. Just look at the names mentioned above who did undergo proper training. Duterte really desires a wild west scenario where gunfights happen in the streets. The country should learn from all the mass shootings happening in the US where the right to bear arms is just as sacred as their entire Constitution.