Manila, Philippines — Congressmen and human rights advocates oppose a bid by President Rodrigo Duterte to arm civilians to support the government’s crime prevention campaign on Monday, leading to the emergence of vigilantes and increased crime in the country. Warned that it might be possible.

Senator Lisa Hontiveros called on Philippine National Police officials to “think twice” about the president’s support for the plan, and how police officers with guns were involved in the killing of innocent civilians. I pointed out what was happening.

“As an institution, PNPs should not outsource their main obligation to maintain peace and order in our community. Instead of arming civilians, PNPs should step up their assistance in expanding into the countryside. “She said.

Duterte said on Friday that PNP private volunteers could get guns and protect themselves while arresting civilians.

“If you have this coalition, you have a list of people who can be there and arm themselves. Order the police. If you qualify, get a gun. Please help us enforce the law, “he said during the oath of the Lingkod Bayan Advocacy Assistance Group and the National Union of Force Multipliers.

“Criminals have to die, you have to live,” he said, noting that the arrested civilians did not want to die because they had no means of protecting themselves.

This is not the first time Duterte has come up with the idea of ​​arming civilians as part of his broader crackdown on crime. In 2017, after Abu Sayyaf’s terrorists were seen on the island, he aired a similar complaint during his speech in Bohol.

On Monday, Malakanian said the president’s latest call was not yet final, but if this were to become a policy, volunteers would be trained in the use of guns.

“Yes [no] Still policy. I think it will be the work of all the staff. Meanwhile, the reality is that while volunteers are helping, there is a threat to their lives, “President spokesman Harry Roque said at a news conference.

“How can we take responsibility if a crime prevention organization with informal gun training gets involved in a crime?” Hontiveros asked.

She quoted a 52-year-old woman in Quezon City earlier this month as a police officer who had already been trained in gun handling, including the case of her mother and son in Tarlac last December, still involved in the killing. ..

Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said the armament of private volunteers was the approval of the Duterte administration, which did not provide security and protection to Filipinos.

“This proposal is likely to put the gun in the hands of a malicious person and therefore only exacerbates the crime,” Drillon said in a statement. “It is good governance, not guns, that can solve the country’s growing problems with crime and its main drivers, poverty and hunger.”

Protocol definition

Proliferation defender Joel Villanueva said the president’s proposal was responsible for formulating the appropriate protocol and defining the legal scope of the rules of engagement between armed personnel and civilians. It was.

“When individuals are allowed to carry weapons for missions reserved for lawyers, there is the challenge of defining the protocols they should follow,” he said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said that instead of relaxing the rules on gun ownership, the government must tighten them. “Train the police better. Hire more police if necessary,” he said.

Senator Vicente Sotto III interpreted the president’s bid as saying that civilians had long been allowed to carry guns and only wanted to relax their gun licenses.

Senator Ronald de la Rosa, a disciple of Duterte, said no problems were found “as long as they were properly supervised.”

“Securing additional personnel to maintain peace and order at no additional cost to the government will be of great help to the government,” said former PNP chief Dela Rosa.

Two members of the House of Representatives, Makabayanbrock, said the president’s proposal was “another bloody disaster waiting to happen” and “not to prevent it, but to commit more crimes.” Stated.

Do you want to kill more?

In a statement, House Deputy Minority Leader and Congressman Carlos Isaganizarate said the idea “only makes the streets more dangerous because it leads to extrajudicial killings and increased vigilantism.” It was.

“Besides this ridiculous and alternative militaristic proposal, there is a more productive way to spend the People’s Budget,” Zarate said.

House assistant minority leader and ACT teacher France Castro said Duterte “re-proposed a policy of killing more Filipinos instead of resolving the roots of many of the crises felt in the country.”

“We don’t need any more guns to pave the way for more vigilantism and extrajudicial killings … we can’t solve the criminal problem by allowing more guns in our city. It only makes our city more dangerous than it is now, “she said in a statement.

She also raised the possibility that politicians would use the proposal to build their own private army in the 2022 elections, just a year later.

“Speculative”

Mr. Roque said it was “speculative” to discuss the potential dangers posed by armed civilian groups because the proposal had not yet been implemented.

“I’m confident that if this becomes a policy, the corresponding training will be available to everyone, but for now it’s speculative,” he said.

In another statement, progressive groups Karapatan, Pamarakaya and Bayan assassinated the president’s proposal and considered the repeated recommendations of many advocates and the UN Human Rights Council to disband and disarm paramilitary groups. I urged the government to do so.

Karapatan Secretary-General Christina Parabay said armed civilians “especially police and the military frequently used the story of’Nan Laban’, using arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, and other tortures. It only spells out more human rights abuses in connection with numerous cases of legal murder. ” violation. “

“If we allow this dark proposal to pass, the Philippines will turn into a wild wild west,” said Renato Reyes, Executive Director of Bagon Alyansan Makabayan.

Over the weekend, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reminded the government that PNP, whose mission as a national civil law enforcement agency is based on the 1987 Constitution, is already “more than enough” to thwart crime. It was.

“Proper training, qualifications, and unclear accountability of civilian armament can lead to lawlessness and the spread of weapons, which can further adversely affect the human rights situation in the country,” CHR spokesman said. Man Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement.

—Reports from MELVIN GASCON, JULIE M. AURELIO, LEILA B. SALAVERRIA, KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING, JEANNETTE I.ANDRADE

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