Gun ban in effect

A gun ban is currently in effect in Bacolod City for the duration of the ongoing MassKara Festival. Starting last Tuesday, October 8, Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) will be enforcing the policy until October 27.
According to an order issued by Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Oscar Albayalde, permits to carry firearms outside of residence are temporarily suspended.
The order further stated, “Only members of the PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other law enforcement agencies who are performing official duties and in agency-prescribed uniforms will be allowed to carry firearms.”
However, Bacolod City Councilor Al Victor Espino said a group of licensed gun owners currently has a pending request before Camp Crame seeking to exempt licensed gun owners from the ban.
“It is the policy of the state to maintain peace and order, and protect people against violence,” he explained. “The state also recognizes the right of its qualified citizens to self-defense through, when it is the reasonable means to repel unlawful aggression under the circumstances, the use of firearms.”
The city official also pointed out, “[A gun ban] does not diminish the actual threat or imminent danger on the life of a person permitted by law to carry a firearm.”
The gun ban only restricts gun-licensed citizens and not those who illegally possess or carry firearms, he added./DGB, WDJ