Limlingan: Of checkpoints and the gun ban

LAST midnight of January 13, the nationwide gun ban took effect in line with the upcoming May 2019 midterm elections. The said ban prohibits anyone to bear, carry or transport firearms, explosives or other deadly weapons.

Qualified individuals on the other hand may apply for an exemption of the ban through the application of an appropriate Certificate of Authority from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) while with a Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence.

In line with the gun ban, the Philippine National Police is implementing the setting up of checkpoints in strategic places to assure the public the proper enforcement of the gun ban and in curbing related or incidental crimes.

Some members of the police since operating checkpoints, have already netted a handful of gun ban and firearms law violators. In addition, there were incidents were motorcycle-riding criminals were apprehended after they tried to elude passing through some checkpoints which resulted into some hot pursuit operations.

There are criminals who prefer engaging in firefights rather than being apprehended in checkpoints. Of course, they are either carrying firearms, drugs or any illegal items, the reason why they avoid checkpoints.

Time and again, checkpoints are proven deterrent to crimes and other crime related activities. They have been proven to discourage criminals to be in transit so they may avoid being accosted by personnel manning checkpoints.

With this, we may think that since crimes do happen everyday and not only during election periods, we may get the idea of establishing checkpoints even if there is no impending election. Since criminals do not really stop from doing their stuffs, we might as well not stopping the implementation of checkpoints.

Meanwhile, the government may also push for the extension of the gun ban whether there would be an election or not. The gun ban may discourage owners or possessors of legal or illegal firearms from bringing outside their residences their guns, thus helps in the anti-criminality campaign of the government.

In the pursuit of peace, we may do away with guns on the streets. With due respect to gun owners, they may have their weapons confined in target shooting ranges or in their residences and not on roads in daily instances.

The gun ban also helps in identifying and apprehending private armed groups and other criminal elements since they need guns to perpetrate crimes and other lawlessness. There are many crimes that should not have been committed if the criminals do not have their firearms in the first place.

If others may see checkpoints are traffic jam-causing measures and the gun ban as a suppression of right to defend oneself, we have to think that these are part of the government's efforts of maintaining peace and order and getting rid of criminals on streets.

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