President Rodrigo Duterte Unveils Plan to Arm Civilians in the Philippines
Jose Nino
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has a bold plan to combat crime in his country.
According to a report from Second Amendment Daily News, Duterte is giving away guns to private individuals in an effort fight off drug gangs.
He is specifically arming “Barangay Captains” who have previously been reluctant to report gang and drug-related crime. Such hesitance to report crimes was out of fear of violent repercussions from the gangs and drug dealers that they would be reporting on.
After careful deliberation with police and intelligence agencies, Duterte announced that he would provide community leaders with guns from the state arsenal.
According to Martin Dino, the Interior Department Secretary in charge of the Barangays, there are 42,000 of these “captains” who would be eligible to receive free or subsidized guns in private purchases.
Dino stated: “The condition is that the barangay captain should fight drugs and crime. If he is conniving with criminals, he could be the one shot.”
Earlier in June, Duterte declared that barangays would receive the same treatment as law enforcement or soldiers. In other words, Duterte proclaimed that they “will never go to jail” if they shot suspected criminals while on duty.
Edmund Abesamis, the president of the association of barangay officials, claims that this plan to arm civilians has the backing of the barangay association.
The plan to arm civilians is supported by the association of barangay officials, according to its president, Edmund Abesamis.
Unlike America, which has an extensive gun culture and very pro-gun laws when compared internationally, the Philippines does not have many options when it comes to arming it citizens.
Ideally, the country would have similar Second Amendment protections like America.
In the meantime, gun owners worldwide can at least breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Duterte is not going on anti-gun tirades like most international politicians are these days.
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