VICE President Leni Robredo, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, and other ranking government officials have been granted automatic exemptions to the existing gun ban being implemented by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
In a press conference, Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said several top senior officials in government and their security details will be exempted from the prevailing gun ban for the May 9 polls.
“We don’t want any senior government official to get injured or lose his life from an armed assailant simply because he cannot defend himself with his own firearm due to the gun ban,” said Pangarungan.
“These officials need to feel secured in performing their duties, free from fear and pressure from others,” he added.
Aside from the Vice President and the Chief Justice, also granted automatic exemptions are the Senate President, incumbent senators, House Speaker, members of the House of Representatives, and all justices of the SC, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals.
Also given exemptions are all judges of the regional, municipal, and metropolitan trial courts; the Ombudsman, Deputy Ombudsman, and investigators and prosecutors of the Ombudsman; the prosecutor general, chief state prosecutor, state prosecutors, and prosecutors of the Department of Justice; and officials and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The Comelec also approved automatic exemption to Cabinet Secretaries, Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries.
The poll body said all Election Officers, Provincial Election Supervisors, and Regional Election Directors are also automatically exempted from the gun ban.
Pangarungan said the amendment to the rules of the gun ban aims to expedite and simplify the grant of exemptions to the ban on the bearing, carrying, and transporting of firearms or other deadly weapons to “deserving” applicant public officials.
“These are very responsible officials who, because of the sensitive nature of their work, need to protect themselves with their firearm,” he explained.
He noted that the Comelec recalibrated its rules given the very stringent guidelines previously set by the poll body under Resolution No. 10728.
“It is lamentable that applications for exemption from the gun ban were denied for some officials, like Supreme Court and Court of Appeals justices, Cabinet Secretaries, senators, and congressmen,” Pangarungan said.
He stressed, however, that the automatic exemption will only be for senior government officials who have valid License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF), Certificate of Firearms Registration (CFR), valid Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence (PTCFOR).
He also said the granting of exemption means that “in no instance shall they carry two firearms.”
The Comelec said public officials covered by the order must submit to the poll body the list of their firearms and qualified security detail not later than April 19, 2022.
