THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said applications for gun ban exemptions for the May 2025 national and local polls will be processed within a week’s time.
Elections chairman George Garcia made the statement as the Comelec starts accepting applications for gun ban exemption today.
Garcia said the poll body will issue the certificates of authority (CAs) within a week if applicants have submitted complete requirements.
“To those that will apply (for CAs), complete your requirements. The reason for the delays in approval is usually because of incomplete documents,” said Garcia.
“As long as they are complete, we can promise you, in one week, they will be approved,” he said.
The CA refers to the certificate issued by the Comelec – Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBFSC) to qualified applicants giving them the authority to bear or carry firearms or other deadly weapons even during the election period, which will run from from January 12 to June 11, 2025.
Among the types of CAs issued by the Comelec are for law enforcement agencies, diplomatic missions, security agencies, cashiers/disbursing officers, high risk individuals, security details, transport, sports shooters, theatrical property, and shooting range.
On the other hand, Garcia said there are individuals who are exempted from the gun ban but need not to apply for a CA, as provided under Resolution No. 11067.
Aside from officials of the Comelec, those who are exempted from the gun ban are the president, vice president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, justices of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals; judges of trial courts, chairman and members of the Judicial and Bar Council, chairmen and commissioners of the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, and Commission on Human Rights; and secretaries, undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries of the Executive branch.
Also in the list are the chief of staff and senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP; commandant and senior officers of the Philippine Coast Guard, chief director and senior officers of the Bureau of Fire Protection; Ombudsman, deputy Ombudsman, and prosecutors of the Office of the Ombudsman; sergeant-at-arms and assistant sergeant-at-arms of the Senate and House of Representatives; sheriffs in all courts and quasi-judicial bodies; solicitor general, assistant solicitor generals, and state solicitors of the Office of the Solicitor General; prosecutor general, chief state prosecutor, and state prosecutors of the Department of Justice; chief public attorney and senior officials of the Public Attorneys Office; commissioner and deputy commissioners of the Bureau of Immigration; director general and senior officials of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency; director of the National Bureau of Investigation; and provincial, city, and municipal treasurers.
