(Photo courtesy of Viscom PIO)
MANILA – A party-list lawmaker on Tuesday called for stricter gun control in the Philippines after the conduct of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKEs).
Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera said the continuing proliferation of unlicensed firearms and smuggled guns calls for gun law reforms, including tougher and swifter administrative penalties, not just longer prison sentences.
She said it may also be time to "revisit and have a sequel" to the Melo Commission Report by conducting fact-finding investigations on private armies and extrajudicial killings, noting that the context of terrorism and the new anti-terrorism laws should be incorporated.
"What is concerning is the persistence of the violence in some localities with long histories of unrest and animosities. They have not grown tired (of) violence when many others have transformed into peaceful and progressive communities," she said.
Herrera commended the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the BSKE.
"Though there were incidents of violence leading to and on Election Day itself, all those taken together would still be few considering there are over 42,000 barangays," she said.
Deputy Speaker Camille Villar, meanwhile, said the newly elected barangay and SK officials should buckle down to serious work and deliver on their campaign pledges.
"The tasks before them are broad and diverse, and they have limited time to make a significant impact in their communities and on the lives of their constituents," Villar said.
She also expressed hope that the new leaders would be trustworthy and reliable in carrying out their duties and responsibilities and would not fall victim to the system of corruption and selfishness.
BHW Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co urged reelected incumbents and the new public servants to become familiar with the many new laws Congress has passed and to implement well those that are relevant to their barangays.
"As one of the younger members of the House of Representatives, my advice to the Sangguniang Kabataan is that they help their cities and municipalities monitor the implementation of public works projects in their barangays," Co said.
Based on Commission on Elections (Comelec) data, up for grabs in Monday's polls were 42,007 positions each for village chair and youth chair and 294,007 each for village council members and youth council members.
The same data showed there were 67.8 million registered voters for the village polls and 23.2 million registered youth voters.
Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the BSKE went smoothly and was generally peaceful.
Election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has reported violent incidents during the BSKE, many of which happened in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). (PNA)
