A nationwide gun ban took effect on Sunday in the Philippines to stave off any increase in political violence as elections draw closer, officials said.
Elections in the Philippines are almost always bloody, mainly because of the dominance of political dynasties, the presence of nearly 70 private armies and militias, and the proliferation of what are called “loose firearms” — mostly unlicensed and unregistered weapons.
Though the elections are scheduled for May, there have already been reports of killings and attacks on candidates this year. Manuel Villar, a presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party, said four of the party’s candidates for local office were killed in different areas in the first week of this month.
The worst poll-related violence happened in November, when 57 people were killed on their way to register a candidate for governor in Maguindanao Province in the south.
The new gun ban calls for officials to establish more than 3,500 checkpoints — at least 90 of them in Manila — to be staffed by 100,000 soldiers and police officers.
Police officials said that 18 people had been arrested on Sunday for carrying firearms.
“Most of them said they were not aware that the gun ban was already in effect, but that is not an excuse,” said Leonardo Espina, a police spokesman.
He said that charges would be filed against the violators.
Under the terms of the ban, civilians are not allowed to carry firearms outside of their homes, even if they are licensed. Only uniformed police officers or soldiers on duty are authorized to carry guns, and the law is so stringent that off-duty police officers who are in possession of firearms will be subject to arrest, Espina said. Three police officers, a navy enlisted man and a prison warden were among those detained on Sunday.
Politicians are prohibited from hiring bodyguards during the election period and possessing firearms as they campaign around the country.
Beyond that, the elections commission will have direct command of the police and the military at the checkpoints during the election period. The commission also has command of the military and the police in towns and provinces that are designated “hot spots” — areas that are thought to be vulnerable to violence during the election season, including Maguindanao.
Although election day is May 10, the gun ban will remain in effect until June 9.
THE ‘MONSTER’: The Philippines on Saturday sent a vessel to confront a 12,000-tonne Chinese ship that had entered its exclusive economic zone The Philippines yesterday said it deployed a coast guard ship to challenge Chinese patrol boats attempting to “alter the existing status quo” of the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese patrol ships had this year come as close as 60 nautical miles (111km) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon. “Their goal is to normalize such deployments, and if these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo,” he said in a statement. He later told reporters that Manila had deployed a coast guard ship to the area
HOLLYWOOD IN TURMOIL: Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton and Cary Elwes lost properties to the flames, while awards events planned for this week have been delayed Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events, while at least five people have died. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed, while tens of thousands of city residents had been displaced and were awaiting word on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens. More than 1,900 structures had been destroyed and the number was expected to increase. More than 130,000 people
A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand more than one decade ago said that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back. Forty-three Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation. “We could be imprisoned and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
RSS