Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-certified micro and small enterprises are not required by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to file an application for exemption to the ban covering weapons, explosives, and controlled chemicals during the election period. Instead, these businesses will be issued a Certificate of Authority to Transport (CA-TT) controlled chemicals after they submit a letter request detailing their purchases and the transport of the controlled chemicals they bought.
With the upcoming national and local elections on May 12, companies that use controlled chemicals in production are required to apply for a CA-TT to be exempted from the gun ban of the COMELEC and avoid committing an election offense.
However, under Resolution No. 11067, COMELEC exempts DTI-certified micro and small enterprises from the application process and submission of the documentary requirements for a CA-TT. To be issued a CA-TT, they only need to notify the COMELEC’s Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns (CBFSC) through a letter request of the details of the purchases and the transport of these controlled chemicals.
“DTI-certified micro and small enterprises… shall not be required to apply for exemption, but shall be issued a CA-TT provided they notify the CBFSC through a letter-request of the details of the purchases and the transport of controlled chemicals pursuant to such purchases,” states Resolution 11067.
Proof of certification from the DTI has to be attached to the letter request.
However, the issuance of a CA-TT does not exempt micro and small enterprises from coordinating with or securing the necessary clearances from the Philippine National Police or PNP.
“The CA-TT issued to exempted entities under this Section shall be valid during the prescribed period/transaction period indicated therein,” the Resolution declares.
Promulgated by the COMELEC in September 2024, Resolution 11067 prohibits the bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms and other deadly weapons, including explosives and their components and controlled chemicals, during the election period.
The gun, explosives and controlled chemicals ban is in effect during the election period from January 12 to June 11, 2025.
Under the law, controlled chemicals refer to chlorates, nitrates, nitric acid and other chemicals categorized under Section 3.1 of the “Implementing Rules and Regulations on Controlled Chemicals Pursuant to Section 4-C to 4-F of PD No. 1886, as Amended by RA No. 9516.”
These controlled chemicals are banned during the election period because they can be used to manufacture explosives and explosive ingredients that can destroy objects or maim or kill people.
During the election period and gun ban, any person without a Certificate of Authority issued by the CBFSC “is presumed to be without authority to bear, carry, or transport the firearms, ammunitions, explosives or any parts/components/controlled chemicals thereof,” COMELEC said in a recent FB post.
“In accordance with Resolution No. 11067, in cases where there is an apparent violation of the Gun Ban, any member of the team manning the COMELEC Checkpoint must ask for the corresponding CA to bear, carry, or transport such items,” the Commission added.
Different kinds of certificates of authority are granted to be exempt from the gun ban, but the CA-TT is the relevant certificate for those needing to transport or deliver firearms or their parts, ammunition or their components, or controlled chemicals during the election period.
Option for accreditation
The Resolution also gives duly licensed, accredited or registered entities the option to apply for accreditation before the CBFSC “to facilitate and more effectively process applications and reduce the repetitive submission of documentary requirements.”
This means entities accredited by the committee get to enjoy privileges such as not needing to submit a board resolution certifying the authority given for every CA-TT application.
In the case of explosives or their components and controlled chemicals, the accredited entity may be authorized, upon issuance of the corresponding CA-TT, to conduct partial or a series of deliveries if the entire quantity of the items as stated in the PNP permit cannot be delivered at one time.
On the other hand, those who don’t opt to seek accreditation must fully accomplish the application form for a CA-TT and submit a number of documentary requirements as listed in Rule 14 of Resolution 11067.
The administrative processing fees for the issuance of the CA-TT are as follows:
• PNP’s Permit to Export – none
• PNP’s Permit to Purchase and Move Explosives, Expolosive Ingredients, Controlled Chemicals – P1,500
• PNP’s Special Permit to Purchase and Move Explosives, Expolosive Ingredients, Controlled Chemicals – P1,500
• PNP’s Permit to Unload Explosives/Explosive Ingredients, Controlled Chemicals – P1,500
• PNP’s Permit to Transport Firearms and Ammunitions – P200
• PNP’s other permits – Same amount of fee imposed by the PNP but not to exceed P1,500
The CA-TT shall be valid from the date of issuance until the end of the election period or the period indicated on it unless it has earlier been revoked by the CBFSC. Reasons for revocation include misrepresentation or false statement in the application, the grounds for the CA issuance cease to exist, and any act made demonstrating violent tendencies or disruption of public order and safety.
Validity of the CA-TT may also be deemed null and void if the entity violated or failed to comply with the conditions for transporting or delivering the firearms or their parts, ammunition or their components, explosives or their components, or controlled chemicals.
It is also invalid if any accreditation, certificate, license, permit, or registration issued by the PNP and used in applying for a CA-TT has been revoked, cancelled, or suspended.
The CA is likewise invalid if a different period of validity is prescribed by the CBFSC.
Additional information and downloadable forms may be obtained from https://comelec.gov.ph/?r=2025NLE/GunBan.
