President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday urged political candidates running for the May 9 polls to follow the rule of law and refrain from sowing chaos to gain advantage during the remainder of the election period.
The chief executive made the remark during his weekly Talk To The People after Interior Secretary Eduardo Año received numerous reports of gun ban violations.
In his weekly briefing, President Duterte indicated that he would initiate the arrest of candidates who would resort to violence and coercion during the election period.
“Tandaan ninyo, hindi kami papayag sa gobyerno na magkaroon ng terrorism sa eleksyon. Wala kaming kinakampihan,” the President said.
“We will enforce the law to make the elections peaceful.”
He also warned politicians on the employment of private armies, telling them to limit the number of armed guards based on the Alunan Doctrine.
Former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III introduced the Alunan Doctrine, which deems two or more armed persons to be a private army that should be disarmed by the government.
“I’ve communicated this to the Cabinet that ang rules should really be followed, ‘yung Alunan Doctrine na lang. Mas maganda ‘yun. That more than two bodyguards would be considered a private army,” he stressed.
Those who will be found violating the policy would run the risk being arrested and prosecuted, he warned.
At the same time, political candidates concerned about their safety should inform law enforcement authorities so that appropriate measures could be taken, the chief executive said.
“Kung sino man ‘yung mga kandidato, you limit yourself and if you think there is danger to your person in a certain place or a certain person, ipatawag ng RD (regional director) ‘yan or ipatawag ng chief of police at kausapin na iwasan lang ‘yung away lalo na gamit ng armas,” he added.
In his report to the President, Año said the DILG recorded 2,536 gun ban violations from January 9 to April 18 that resulted in the arrest 2,653 people.
The interior chief also reported that authorities confiscated 974 deadly weapons, 2,013 firearms, and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition. As of April 18, 5,809 firearms were surrendered, he added.
Implementing the election-related gun ban, authorities established 5,187 checkpoints nationwide as of April 17, with the Philippine National Police (PNP) deploying more than 39,000 personnel.
Meanwhile, Año also gave the President an update on the government’s relentless anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Law enforcers have conducted 867 anti-illegal drug operations from April 10 to April 16, resulting in the confiscation of a total of 17.32 kilograms of shabu and 268.94 kilograms of marijuana with combined estimated value of more than P150 million.
They also arrested 1,227 individuals, with 108 people voluntarily surrendering, and three suspects losing their lives during the drug operations. PND
