BY: CHARLES NIKKO LIMON
Marjun, a motorist heading home to Baguio City, was stopped by police at a checkpoint.
He presented his motorcycle documents and license before being allowed to proceed.
But this checkpoint is not an ordinary one.
With the start of the 2025 midterm local and national election period, the election gun ban is now in effect, accompanied by COMELEC checkpoints like this.
This initiative by the PNP and COMELEC aims to prevent any violence during the upcoming elections.
Police are limited to plain-view searches at checkpoints. If firearms are found, drivers and passengers are required to cooperate with authorities.
Exemptions to carry firearms must be supported by permits from the COMELEC and PNP.
Aside from firearms, airsoft guns and replicas are also included in the ban.
So far, no arrests have been made. However, the Regional Joint Security Control Center is closely monitoring areas like Abra, where intense rivalries among candidates are expected.
The PNP and AFP are prepared to act against those who resort to violence, as they did during the 2023 Barangay and SK elections in Bucay, Abra, with quick-reaction teams deployed to respond to incidents.
