MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 9, 2012) – San Juan City Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada has urged the Philippine National Police to intensify its campaign against loose firearms in the country to curb gun violence.
Ejercito Estrada made the statement amid renewed calls for tougher gun control laws following the death of 23 people in separate incidents barely a few days into 2013.
A seven-year-old girl from Caloocan died after she was hit by a stray bullet in the head while watching fireworks on New Year’s Eve. A shooting rampage in Kawit, Cavite also left nine people dead on January 4. And recently, 13 people had been killed in a shootout in Quezon province.
Ejercito Estrada, son of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, expressed apprehension that incidents of gun violence may increase if the PNP will not be able to immediately track down and apprehend owners of some 600,000 illegal firearms across the country.
“The PNP must be able to account for these loose firearms especially since the Philippines is already in the thick of preparations for the May elections,” he said.
Violent incidents tend to go up as Election Day nears. Ejercito Estrada, who is running for senator in the May mid-term elections, said the Aquino government particularly the PNP must be able to assure citizens that it is capable of safeguarding their lives as well as the sanctity of the ballot.
He also challenged newly installed PNP Director General Alan Purisima to prove that President Benigno Aquino made the right decision in appointing him as national police chief and in entrusting him with the task of maintaining peace and order in the country.
Local officials are also pushing for a total firearms ban in Zamboanga City where more than a hundred people were killed in gun attacks last year. (Mindanao Examiner)
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