Gun ban in effect...
Gun ban in effect as election period starts
The election period for the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) starts today and the Office of the Election Officer will start receiving certificates of candidacy (COC) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the city or municipality where the candidate resides starting today until April 20.
Under the law, no person shall be eligible for any Barangay or SK position unless he or she files a sworn COC, the forms of which may
be obtained either at the local Offices of Election Officers (OEOs) or downloaded at the Commission of Elections (Comelec) website: www.comelec.gov. ph.
Voters aged 18 and above shall vote for one Barangay chairman, and seven Barangay Kagawads. Meanwhile, voters aged 15 to 30 shall vote for one Sanggunian Kabataan (SK) chairperson and seven SK members.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chairperson Rene Sarmiento reminded aspirants that running for public office is a serious business.
“Running for public office, presidency or Barangay/ SK (BSK) posts, is serious business, because it deals with people’s lives, liberties and properties, and fortunes as well, and candidates should be God-fearing and people-serving,” Sarmiento added.
Candidates for barangay chairman and kagawad should be a Filipino citizen, a registered voter in the Barangay where he intends to be elected, a resident therein for at least one year immediately preceding the day of the election, able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect, and at least 18 years of age on election day.
SK candidates, on the other hand should be a Filipino citizens, a qualified voter of the Katipunan ng Kabataan (KK), resident of the Barangay for not less than a year immediately preceding the day of the elections, at least 18 years but not more than 24 years of age on the day of the elections, able to read and write Filipino, English or the local dialect, must not have been convicted by final judgment of any crime involving moral turpitude, must not be related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official or to any incumbent elected regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official, in the locality, where he or she seeks to be elected.
Gun ban The Comelec said during the election period which will end on May 21, “no person shall bear, carry or transport firearms or other deadly weapons in public places, including any building, street, park, private vehicle or public conveyance, even if licensed to carry the same, unless authorized in writing by the Commission.”
Only regular members of the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement agencies of the Government who are duly deputized in writing by the Commission for election duty may be authorized to carry and possess firearms during the election period.
However, the Comelec said, “when in the possession of firearms, the deputized law enforcement officer must be in full uniform showing clearly and legibly his name, rank and serial number, which shall remain visible at all times, and in the actual performance of his election duty in the specific area designated by the Commission.”
Gun ban exemptions may be issued to other qualified individuals, “who by nature of their official duties, profession, business or occupation, such as but not limited to cashiers, disbursing officers, persons who are under the Witness Protection Program, etc., are considered as high risk individuals.”
All application/requirements for gun ban exemptions shall be filed with the Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Personnel (CBFSP) at the Comelec Main Office, 8th Floor, Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros, Manila.
To effectively implement the firearms ban during the election period, Comelec Checkpoints shall be established nationwide.
“There shall be at least one (1) ComelecCheckpoint in each city/municipality. However, additional checkpoints, including those coming from PNP/AFP commands outside the city/ municipality, shall be established in coordination with the Election Officer (EO) having jurisdiction over the city/ municipality,” the Comelec said in Resolution No. 10198, promulgated September 14, 2017.
When the ban takes effect at 12:01 a.m. of April 14, 2018, the setting up of checkpoints will also commence, the Comelec said.
Third termers Records of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) showed there are 8,927 third-termer incumbent punong barangays in the country and 51,273 third-termer sangguniang barangay members.
DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo M. Año said that under the Local Government Code, “no local elective official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms in the same position. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective official concerned was elected.”
“The law is very clear regarding the prohibition of third termers to run for the same post. Do not file your candidacy if you will go beyond the third term, or consider running for another post. Better yet, let the others have their chance to become barangay leaders,” he added.
DILG Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the department has already submitted to Comelec the names of incumbent punong barangays and sangguniang barangay members serving their third consecutive terms in office in the same position.
“This initiative of the DILG to be on guard of third-termer barangay officials is in line with department’s commitment of support to an honest and clean elections,” said Malaya.( With reports from Martin A. Sadongdong and Chito Chavez)