MANILA – Sen. Panfilo Lacson is cool to the idea of giving barangay officials weapons to get them engaged in crime fighting.
“(It is) not as simple as what the President wants,” Lacson said on Wednesday.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said barangay officials should carry either shotguns or .22 handguns.
“Alam ko medyo alangan kayo mag-confront ng kriminal. Alam ko takot kayo kasi wala naman kayong armas. Kung bibigyan ko kayo ng armas, fight kayo?” Duterte said.
Lacson, former Philippine National Police chief, stressed there are laws and procedures to be observed if the idea of the President will be carried out.
“Say, if [the] government will provide and issue the firearms, there must be [a] budget in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) to be deliberated [on] and approved by Congress,” he said.
If the barangay officials will procure the firearms “out of their pockets,” they will have to apply for a License to Own and Possess Firearms and a Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence, said Lacson.
Before they can be “accorded such authority,” barangay officials – like government officials, elected or appointed, and all civilians – must “undergo neuropsychiatric tests and a gun safety seminar,” among others, in accordance with Presidential Decree 1866 and other Philippine National Police regulations, he added./PN
