Civilian Armed Auxiliaries of the Philippine National Police are authorized to carry firearms, but only if they are in the company of regular and uniformed police personnel.
The clarification was made by Sr. Supt. Mariano Natuel Jr., OIC PNP provincial director of Negros Oriental, in response to queries on whether these auxiliary members of the police force can carry guns.
However, Natuel clarified that arming of the PNP auxiliary forces go through a rigid process and in fact, there are not too many of them now in Negros Oriental.
While he could not be specific about it, he said currently, there are only a handful of police auxiliaries in some parts of the province, such as Bayawan City and Dumaguete City.
He admits the need for police auxiliaries to beef up current police forces as they are considered force multipliers.
In Dumaguete City, police auxiliaries are utilized as drivers and sometimes to assist regular policemen in the conduct of checkpoints and other field work. (PNA. LAP/JFP)
