FROM out of nowhere and without much ado, the Philippine National Police (PNP) revised the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition Regulation or Republic Act 10591.
In its new version of the IRR, the police organization in effect opens to civilians the privilege of owning semi-automatic rifles or those guns with caliber not exceeding 7.62 mm. The PNP said the new IRR was prepared by a technical working group it created and submitted to the University of the Philippines Law Center on Feb. 27 for publication, after which the revision would take affect after 15 days.
‘… our current rules on gun ownership are enough to ensure that firearms remain in the hands of the military, the police, and the responsible citizens who sometimes find themselves fighting criminal elements themselves.’
This move by the PNP is a double-edged sword that has stoked the fire of debate among gunless society supporters and a small sector of the business community involved in manufacturing, importation and selling firearms.
Those who oppose the plan are Senators Francis Tolentino and Riza Hontiveros. Tolentino said promoting a culture of gun ownership, particularly involving long firearms, will impact more on economic growth rather than peace and order and security concerns.
Among the senators, Tolentino has been the only one fighting the penchant of implementing agencies in the Executive department for issuing IRRs divergent from the intentions of the law. Imagine the rigorous stages that a bill has to pass before becoming a law, the long hours of research, study, vetting, discussions and sometimes, heated debates, that go into serious legislative work, only to be changed by some department or bureau through the process of crafting IRRs.
It was presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos who asked the inconvenient question: Did gun manufacturers, importers, sellers, gun clubs, firing ranges and others in the firearms lovers society lobbied the PNP to relax the rules on gun ownership?
Hontiveros, meanwhile, has taken the position that RA 10591 should be amended. She said: “Hoarding high-powered weapons should not be a hobby, much less one enabled by law … our society, families and schools will be safer if we reduce the guns that may be used to kill and commit other crimes.” This stance is very much in step with Hontiveros’ almost daily criticisms against former President Duterte, an avowed gun collector.
As expected, the Gunless Society of the Philippines rejected the revision, stressing that semi-automatic rifles end up in the hands of criminal syndicates and rebel groups. They know as we do, that the police have their hands tied in the fight against illegal drugs. Monitoring of illicit firearms traffic would be an additional onerous task for them.
The PNP leadership headed by Police Brig. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. has given assurances the new IRR has safeguards against abuse in gun ownership. The gun business club led by the Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines says the process of buying a gun in the country is hard and stricter compared to the United States. This is true, as we always see Hollywood movies showing guns sold over the counter in the US, the reason there have been over 70 mass shootings in the US this year, leaving more than 100 people dead and 250 injured, and it isn’t the end of the first quarter yet.
Filipinos are happy that mass shooting rarely occurs in the Philippines, unlike in the US and some European countries. We believe our current rules on gun ownership are enough to ensure that firearms remain in the hands of the military, the police, and the responsible citizens who sometimes find themselves fighting criminal elements themselves.
