Duterte to cops: Don’t be selective in manning checkpoints

DAVAO City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte reminded police authorities assigned in checkpoints established by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) not to be selective in searching vehicles passing by.

"If you search, you search all," Duterte said. "Do not be selective in the interpretation of the regulation."

Since the Comelec gun ban was implemented last January 13, Duterte had observed that some policemen do not search private vehicles.

"Ang di ko gusto yung mga depasahero na sasakyan, they are told to go down and be searched. Etong mga kotse, mga Mercedes Benz, yung mga kotse na magaganda, they are waved by," Duterte told reporters Thursday at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, where he hosted the fellowship night for the participants of the 40th founding anniversary of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

"It's a selective application of the law, which to me is not fair and equitable," he added.

A total of four people has been sued before the City Prosecutor's Office (CPO) so far for violating the nationwide gun ban.

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) chief Senior Superintendent Ronald dela Rosa said he will see to it that his troops will be fair in making searches in checkpoint areas as mandated by law.

He reiterated that they are implementing the law 24/7.

The DCPO chief also called the public to cooperate and help law enforcers in imposing the gun ban by way of reporting to them any suspicious-looking persons or anybody carrying firearms in civilian clothes.