MALACAÑANG has not ruled out President Ferdinand Marcos supporting the push of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to tighten government policy for possession of loose firearms by making it a non-bailable offense.
‘So, the President is open to whatever legislation would be appropriate like imposing stiffer penalties for this,’ Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, DILG Secretary Juanito ‘Jonvic’ C. Remulla, Jr. proposed the measure after the shooting incident in the Ateneo de Zamboanga University done by a minor using licensed firearm to shoot and kill two other students on 18 August 2026.
The DILG chief pushed for amending Republic Act No. 8294, which set measures for illegal possession, manufacture, sale, and acquisition of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, since he said 98 percent of gun crimes are done with loose firearms.
Remulla hopes the measure will serve as a deterrent for shooting incidents.
Castro said the suggestion is good, but she said the President will first wait for the final version of the bill before he decides if he will support or not the proposed amendment.
‘Whatever will benefit our country and serve the interests of our fellow citizens, our President will not stand in the way of it,’ she said.
In a related development, the Presidential Communication Office undersecretary said that Marcos also still has no final position on the proposal to once again defer Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which are scheduled for November.
‘As of now, no concrete comments or statements have been provided to us regarding the postponement of the barangay elections,’ Castro said.
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 12232, the BSKE was reset from December 2025 to the first Monday of November 2026 and every 4 years thereafter.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that postponement of the BSKE through RA No. 11935 from 5 December 2022 to the last Monday of October 2023 violated the provisions of the Constitutions of genuine periodic elections.