Editorial

The country has tough laws against illegal gun possession, with stiff penalties as provided under Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act passed in 2013. Yet loose firearms continue to proliferate, promoting deadly violence that has marred politics and elections.

In this part of Asia, the Philippines has the second highest intentional homicide rate, ranking only behind Myanmar. Apart from thousands of drug suspects killed in the previous administration, the country has a long string of murders targeting activists, journalists and legal professionals.

Every electoral exercise in this country is marked by lethal violence, with candidates seeing murder as the ultimate tool for eliminating political rivals. The massacre of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine others at his home has been linked to his family’s feud with the rival Teves clan. Deadly violence is employed even in races for the smallest unit of government, the barangay.

With the elections for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan set this October, the Philippine National Police says it is monitoring at least 49 active and potential private armed groups across the country. Whether the PNP can actually crack down on those groups is another story. Many private armies are maintained by influential politicians who are themselves keepers of large arsenals.

If a barangay captain can have an unlicensed grenade in his possession, think of what higher ranking officials are keeping. The alleged mastermind in Degamo’s murder, Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., his two sons and his brother, Bayawan town Mayor Pryde Henry Teves face charges over a cache of guns and explosives found in his