By Tracy Cabrera
CAMP CRAME, Quezon City — Filipino gun owners will now have to prove that their firearms are safely secured before they can obtain or renew a license, under a new Philippine National Police policy.
Beginning October 5, applicants for a License to Own and Possess Firearms must submit a photograph showing themselves with their firearm vault or storage container, the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) said.
The storage facility must be secured with a lock and key or other appropriate safety measures.
PNP-FEO chief Brig. Gen. Melecio Buslig Jr. said safe firearm storage has long been required under existing regulations covering Type 1 to Type 5 license holders.
The change, he said, is that applicants must now submit documentary proof that the requirement is being followed.
The stricter enforcement follows a series of school shooting incidents involving minors who allegedly accessed firearms owned or issued to adults.
Authorities said a minor suspect in the June 22 San Jose National High School shooting in Tacloban City used a Glock pistol issued to his police-officer aunt. The officer later acknowledged that the firearm was kept in a locked plastic locker.
At the Ateneo de Zamboanga University shooting in August, the student reportedly used two guns belonging to his father, including an agency-issued firearm and a licensed personal weapon.
Another school shooting in Banga, South Cotabato, on September 18 involved a firearm owned by the suspect’s father.
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla Jr. has also proposed police inspections of gun owners’ homes to verify storage compliance, subject to prior notice and the owner’s consent through a waiver.
ia/xf
