The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are supportive of President Duterte’s proposal to arm barangay captains as a form of self-protection depending on the gravity of existing threats on their personal safety.

DILG officer-in-charge Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday cited the dangers faced by barangay executives who serve as the government’s first line of defense in combating illegal drug menace.

Año said that arming village chiefs is a viable plan depending on the gravity of threat the barangay captains are receiving based on the level of barangay affectations posed by threat groups such as drug syndicates and terrorists.

“As they are our first line of defense in the grassroots level, their exposure to various scalawags and criminal elements is high. The need for urgent protection is therefore imperative,” Año said.

“Arming them would be more for self-defense purposes since we have enough police forces to operate against lawless elements,” he added.

DILG Undersecretary Martin Diño is also keen of arming barangay officials in the performance of their peace and order mandate, reiterating that it is in the law.

Diño, in a television interview, said the 1991 Local Government Code clearly states that barangay officials are allowed to possess and to carry firearms amid opposition by some lawmakers on the proposal.

The undersecretary stressed that barangay chiefs play a key role in the Duterte administration’s war against drugs and criminality, thus the need to carry firearms for protection.

Diño said that Duterte had the assessment and evaluation to consider arming the barangay chiefs for their own protection against drug lords and criminal elements.

The DILG official, however, quickly allayed fears of abuses and assured the public that barangay chiefs will be armed based on rules and regulation. He added that village leaders on the narco list will not be allowed to carry firearms.

For his part, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde stressed that those who decide to bear firearms should undergo all the legal processes before obtaining guns.

“We support the stand of the President to arm barangay officials,” Albayalde said.

While the policy to allow them to bear firearms is still being studied, Albayalde said barangay officials can acquire their personal guns and undergo the normal procedures in licensing personal guns.

“They (barangay officials) can always have firearms on their own, licensed legally. They can possess legally licensed firearms and we can provide them with the permit to carry outside residence. But as of this time, they cannot use them during the performance of their official duties and functions,” Albayalde explained.

Last Tuesday, during the mass oath-taking of Central Luzon barangay chiefs, Duterte said he was considering arming barangay chiefs to ensure their protection in the war against drugs and criminality.