Police drafting rules for gun licenses

The guidelines for loose firearms registration and licensing are now in the pipeline.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday it is creating a committee to formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRRs) in the registration and licensing of loose firearms, as approved by President Arroyo.

PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane said the IRRs will serve as the operational guidelines to be adopted by the PNP in the immediate implementation of Executive Order No. 171 , which grants amnesty and allows the issuance of gun licenses to the owners and holders of unlicensed firearms who have owned these guns for one year.

The police estimate that there are now 328,000 illegal or unlicensed firearms nationwide, including those which were formerly licensed but are now owned by gun holders with expired licenses.

These statistics, however, do not include the locally-manufactured guns, popularly known as paltiks, which, if completely accounted for, would number over a million.

PNP Director for Police Community Relations Ricardo de Leon heads the IRR committee, which includes PNP Director for Operations Chief Supt. Vidal Querol, Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) chief Sr. Supt. Geary Barias and FED-Permit to Carry Section chief Supt. Ricardo Marquez.

The group is expected to come out with their official IRR draft anytime from Monday.

Ebdane instructed the committee to consider all variables and guarantee the smooth implementation of EO 171.