On the eve of the end of the COMELEC election Gun ban which began on 10 January and ends on 9 June 2010, the final and official PROGUN tally of shootings and/or gun violence during this period is: 565 people Killed and 359 wounded, for a total of 922 people shot. Our tally can be viewed here: http://progun.ph/gun-ban-crimes
When PROGUN began this project several months ago, we set out to prove by empirical evidence once and for all, if the COMELEC Gun ban resulted in less crime and gun violence during the ban. Not knowing what the results should eventually show, we embarked on a simple count or tally of gun related violent incidents as reported in ordinary news channels.
The results that we got are quite disturbing. The statistics simply show that several hundred people are shot during election gun ban period, which are not reported by law enforcement.
The PNP however has a far lower number of about 230 people who were victims of gun related violence during the election period.
We are not paid professionals who can fabricate surveys. Neither are we full time professional statisticians. That in a sense makes our findings more credible. The figures in the newspapers and media will not lie and speak for itself. The sources cited in our tally are readily available from online sources and can be easily verified. Thus, we bring these unadulterated and raw figures of shootings not to glorify gun violence, but to prove that THE COMELEC ELECTION GUN BAN FAILED TO PREVENT CRIMINALS FROM BRINGING THEIR GUNS AND USING THEM IN SHOOTING INNOCENT PEOPLE. Likewise, it must be emphasized that THE POLICE WERE INEFFECTIVE AND POWERLESS TO PREVENT SUCH SHOOTINGS FROM HAPPENING.
Additionally, we learned the following lessons:
1. Only law abiding and licensed gun owners of legitimate firearms obeyed the election gun ban. Criminals did not respect the gun ban and went on committing crimes with impunity;
2. The shooting incidents during the election gun ban were overwhelmingly committed by criminals and/or terrorists using unlicensed firearms, not legitimate or licensed gun owners;
3. Not all crimes are reported to the public by our police. Often, police crime statistics report much lower levels of crime for purposes of propaganda. In reality, we have a much higher crime rate than that which is reported.
Who do we believe the Philippine National Police (PNP) or different News companies? like ABS-CBN NEWS, GMA NEWS, PHIL STAR, MANILA BULLETTIN, SUN STAR and so on…
Apparently the PNP have issues on how they conduct their count and recording.
You decide!
Another thing to note is that we avoided including incidents that were obviously the result of military engagements. (See the FAQ for an explanation.) There is some justification for adding these since militia insurgents are still covered by the ban. If they were included, the numbers would have been significantly larger.
You can debate this on the forum discussion.
Don’t forget that a good portion of the crimes may have been prevented if the victim(s) had been carrying legally licensed firearms.
If anything, these crime statistics should serve as a wake up call for our police. Stop turning a blind eye and face reality. There is a crime problem in the Philippines and our law enforcement lacks the personnel and efficiency to stop it.