Armed and dangerous?

Metro Manila Mayors League president and Manila Mayor Lito Atienza has advised those proposing the arming of barangay chairmen to be very cautious in pushing for the said measure, saying that this could create more problems.

"Although barangay chairmen are authorized to carry firearms within their jurisdictions under Section 389 of the Local Government Code, it would probably be better to just provide more support to the police and prod them to be more effective in carrying out their primary duty of fighting crime," Atienza said.

"Carrying firearms need special training and should be covered by very clear rules. I don’t think this measure is appropriate at this time," he added.

Atienza also noted that the move to allow barangay chairmen to carry firearms would pose problems in Manila, which has 897 barangay chairmen. "Imagine having that many people carrying firearms in Manila, some of whom lack the necessary training or discipline? We might have a ‘wild, wild west’ scenario in our city."

"If we arm barangay chairmen, the next step might be to arm barangay watchmen or tanods. This would also be a problem in our city considering we have something like 15,000 barangay tanods," he pointed out.

The proposal to allow barangay chairmen in the country numbering about 42,000 to carry firearms was aired recently by Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane.

Another difficulty that Atienza foresees with the arming of barangay chairmen is that policemen might slack off in the performance of their duties, particularly in going after criminal elements.

"Baka sabihin na lamang ng pulis sa nagrereklamong mamamayan na ipahabol na lang ang salarin sa punong barangay dahil armado na naman ang mga ito," he said.

Atienza stressed that the most effective way to combat crime is still having a police force that is disciplined, well equipped, well-trained, highly motivated and working closely with the barangays.

"When it comes to crime prevention and effective maintenance of peace and order, nothing beats a proactive police force that is in constant and close coordination with the barangay and the citizenry," he said.

Abuse Of Power

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad said yesterday said he would call on the 16 other local chief executives of Metro Manila to oppose the PNP proposal to allows barangay chairmen to carry firearms outside their homes.

In an interview with The STAR, Trinidad, spokesman of the Metro Manila Mayor’s League, said he fears that some community leaders might abuse their "power."

"I would still have to talk to the other mayors. This requires thorough deliberation," he said.

The PNP granted 42,000 barangay chairmen nationwide permission to carry short firearms to assist in resolving the peace and order in the country. They must, however, first secure permits from Camp Crame.

But the mayor argued that policemen who carry guns are answerable to the PNP if they fire their service firearm indiscriminately.

"The erring policeman can be dismissed from service or suspended, but the mayor has no disciplinary hold over the barangay officials," he said.

He said barangay officials are elected officials, and not appointed by the mayor, so cannot be dismissed from their posts.

On the other hand, Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi expressed his support for the proposal, saying there was nothing wrong with the PNP decision.

"This has long been stated and approved by the Local Government Code that barangays officials carry firearms. They can bring their firearms as long as within the jurisdiction of their barangay," Fresnedi said.

However, he said the PNP should provide an effective system in its implementation that would rule out the possibility of barangay officials abusing this privilege.

The mayor suggested the PNP should conduct a background check on the barangay officials before bestowing upon them this privilege. "It should be done on a case to case basis or be selective because not all barangay officials have clean records and can be trusted with firearms."

Fresnedi added: "The mayor or local chief of police cannot conduct the background check to avoid biased findings because mayors can be accused of asking the police chief to coddle erring barangay officials. Instead, the impartial investigation should be conducted by the district police director."

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina stressed yesterday the 1991 Local Government Code allows barangay captains to bring licensed firearms within their areas of jurisdiction.

Lina made the clarification after reports came out that Ebdane had approved the implementing guidelines allowing selected local officials to carry firearms.

"But the barangay chairman must comply with the requirements. The firearm must be licensed and the chairman must have a permit to carry," Lina said.

Lina added that " perhaps the PNP was merely clarifying the law" during the "Ugnayan ng Pulisya at Mamamayan" at Camp Crame last week. – With Nikko Dizon