Over 200,000 loose firearms owners in RP avail of gun amnesty program
CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte — Described as a promising turnout of the gun amnesty campaign all over the country after the November 30 ,2009 second phase of deadline of registration of unlicensed firearms and renewal of expired licenses of guns under the national firearms control program of the government.
No less than the director of the Philippine National Police Civil Security Group based in Camp Crame, Chief Supt. Ireneo A. Bacolod, yesterday said in an exclusive interview that over 200,000 firearms composed of unlicensed and unrenewed guns were able to avail of the said gun amnesty program from the estimated 1.1 million loose firearms all throughout the country in 2008.
General Bacolod, who visited the PNP regional headquarters here, said that they were successfully convinced to register 559,000 and renewed 529,000 expired licenses during the four months campaign against these loose weapons which was started in July this year.
Close to four thousand from the 200,985 loose firearms and expired registration of guns in the region availed the said program as earlier disclosed by Chief Inspector Orlando Gardiola, the head of the Firearms and Explosive division of PRO-8.
“At least it has a positive and aggressive response from the public, the awareness of the people, imagine we successfully reduced loose firearms in the country after the final amnesty for unregistered firearms,” Bacolod said.
The hierarchy of the PNP earlier warned that those who fail to avail of the amnesty will be meted with “stiff penalties.”
The gun amnesty was implemented synchronized with the imposition of stiffer penalties for gun possession. Saying that the November 30 deadline of final implementation of gun amnesty of the PNP had already passed, Bacolod said that those who still have loose firearms can register them and then after that, those who will still possess loose firearms will be given stiff penalties.
Since 1986, the PNP has offered amnesty for loose firearms seven times, police records showed. In 2008, a total of 15,015 individuals availed of the gun amnesty.
Bacolod admitted that granting amnesty to owners of unregistered guns was not enough to round up loose firearms.
The PNP national leadership according to General Bacolod earlier recommended before the lawmakers of the country the amendment of PD 1866 known as illegal possession of firearms now pending at the Senate under the chairmanship of Senator Gregorio Honasan, where he said the senator promised to pass the said House Bill 6776 to become a law before the February 26 implementation of total gun ban in preparation for the coming May 10,2010 elections.
Now that the gun amnesty is over, the police authorities are expecting the reduction of loose firearms not only to areas where there are extensive political rivalries, but also in other parts of the country. (MIRIAM GARCIA DESACADA)
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