The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has received a total of 223 applications for exemption from the gun ban in effect since the beginning of the election period, it said on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

Data from Comelec showed that of the 223 applications, 21 were from law enforcement agencies, 53 were from security agencies, two were from cashiers and disbursing officers, 10 from high-risk individuals, 127 from security detail, and 10 were from personnel seeking authority and accreditation for transportation of firearms and other controlled chemicals.
Of this, only 38 were approved while 74 were denied.
According to resolution no. 10728 promulgated on Nov. 10, 2021, the election period will be from January 9, 2022 to June 8, 2022. The Comelec resolution covers the prohibition against availment or engagement of the services of security personnel or bodyguards.
A certificate of authority (CA) may be acquired through the Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBFSC) , a committee in the commission, which shall be responsible for the implementation of the ban on the bearing, carrying or transporting of firearms and other deadly weapons, and the employment, availment or engagement of security personnel, among others, and the rules and regulations on the application for exemption.
The resolution states that it has the sole and exclusive power to issue CAs.