‘Gun ban not the solution to criminality’

The implementation of a sustained gun ban will not put an end to the spate of murders of journalists and elected officials, a group called Peaceful and Responsible Owners of Guns (PROGun) declared yesterday.

"PROGun deplores the use by anti-gun groups of recent killings and threats to journalists and person(s) in authority to instill an anti-gun sentiment and fear among the public regarding the legal ownership of firearms," said PROGun president Ernesto Tabujara.

"Neither is vigilantism the solution to violent crime," Tabujara said.

He said PROGun advocates the legal ownership of firearms for personal protection of individuals under the framework of laws relating to firearms and the criminal justice system.

The group issued the statement after President Arroyo raised the possibility of legislating a gun control law.

Tabujara said a legally armed citizen, trained in the proper and legal use of firearms, is a formidable deterrent against crime.

He said a proactive approach to crime prevention involves community-based organizations and private individuals working with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

On the other hand, the Association of Firearms and Ammunitions Dealers of the Philippines Inc. (AFAD) led by Nerio Dionisio pointed out that only 12 licensed firearms — as against 1,719 unlicensed guns in the records of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) at Camp Crame — had been involved in criminal cases.

Dionisio emphasized the 12 reported cases only involved minor infractions of gun laws and were not related to recent media killings and assassinations.

"We respect the President’s prerogative on the gun issue but our legislator(s) should distinguish between loose firearms in the hands of criminals and licensed firearms in the hands of peace-loving citizens," Dionisio said.

Dionisio added the firearms industry does its share of nation building by way of export revenues, income collected from taxes and firearms license fees collected from licensed gun owners.

He said the National Statistics Office (NSO) recorded a total of over $11 million in Freight on Board (FOB) value on combined import and export of firearms and ammunition in 2003.

Dionisio said over $10 million was collected last year in such fees while a total of P212,196,964.04 and P210,237,601.98 was collected in license fees for 2003 and 2004, respectively.

He noted that over 3,000 families are dependent on the gun industry.

Meanwhile, PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil called on media practitioners to be more responsible to avoid the risk of getting killed.

Bataoil accused some in the media of being "hard-hitting without being balanced" in their reporting.

He said this practice was often seen as one of the causes of attacks against media practitioners.