RCSU to mayors on arming brgy chiefs: Follow process first

They should comply with the process first.

SPO2 Glen Facturan, Regional Civil Security Unit (RCSU) chief, gave this advice to mayors who are pushing to arm barangay captains in the wake of the recent killing of the Mantuyong village chief.

“The mayor just could not issue government-owned firearms to anybody. He or she should comply with the process,” said Facturan, who also assured that they are willing to accommodate and process any request from local government units or any individual for that matter.

Facturan, however, said that they had yet to receive any application for barangay captains in Mandaue City to possess firearms.

He said that a barangay captain, who would want to possess a gun must personally appear before the RCSU, formerly known as the Firearms Explosives Security Service Agency and Guards Supervisory Section (FESSAGS).

“In past years, government-owned firearms were simply entrusted by the local chief executives to whoever they want to possess it. But that is not allowed under our rules now,” Facturan said in an interview yesterday.

He said local chief executives or the treasurers must send to Camp Crame the names of the persons whom they would want to issue the firearms.

The recipients, he said, must also secure their respective License To Own and Possess Firearm (LTOPF) from RCSU.

Requirements

Among the requirements for the release of LTOPF are clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation, Regional Trial Court/Municipal Trial Court, the National Statistics Office, and proof that the person has the sufficient income to pay the firearm’s tax.

The applicant must also undergo a neuro examination and a drug test.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing both agreed to issuing firearms to barangay captains in the wake of the slay of Barangay Captain Antonino Maquilan of Mantuyong in Mandaue City.

Maquilan, an amputee, was on board his wheelchair when an unknown assailant shot him near their barangay hall at 5:30 a.m. last May 3. He was brought to the hospital but he eventually died.

Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), also supported the move to arm barangay captains in order to ensure their safety.