Gun crackdown: 4 teens nabbed

MANILA, Philippines - Amid national soul-searching over rising gun-related deaths, four teenage boys have been arrested for allegedly trying to rob motorists using homemade guns.

The four suspects, aged 15 to 16, police said, were arrested Sunday night while waiting for victims in the vicinity of Katihan Bridge near the New Bilibid Prison.

Police said the suspects would force motorists to stop by throwing rocks at them, then accost and rob the victims armed with sumpak, a makeshift weapon.

“Their intention was to stage a holdup once the target vehicles get immobilized due to the damage,” said Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, director of the Southern Police District.

Estipona said Muntinlupa police chief Senior Superintendent Conrad Capa sent his men to arrest the suspects after receiving complaints.

Estipona said the four are facing charges of illegal possession of firearms. The police said they also expect some victims to come forward to file malicious mischief and unjust vexation against the suspects. Since the suspects are minors, they will be placed under the custody of the social welfare department and will be tried in juvenile courts.

The death of seven-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella from a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve in Caloocan City has enraged the nation and triggered calls for a total gun ban. Several people in her neighborhood have been arrested for firing their guns on New Year’s Eve, but the bullet that killed her did not match the suspects’ weapons.

Yesterday, doctors at the Taguig Pateros District Hospital discovered that a boy brought in for follow- up checkup for firecracker injuries turned out to be a victim of stray bullet. Doctors said a .22 caliber bullet remained embedded in the arm of the five-year-old boy whose name was withheld.

At Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said President Aquino’s fondness for guns should not mislead the public into believing that he is against tougher gun control, much less total gun ban.

“Let’s not pigeonhole the President. Let’s not prejudge the President. In the past, many have been saying that P-Noy will be doing this and doing that because they think this is his preference,” Valte said in a news briefing.

She reminded journalists that Aquino has “defied perception so many times,” citing his pushing Congress to approve the sin tax reform law despite being a smoker.

“We need to discuss this with him. The proposals (on gun ban, regulation) need to be looked at and let’s give him a chance, essentially. He has not said anything,” she stressed.

“There are several and varying proposals, between stricter gun control to proposals for a total gun ban. That has to be discussed with the President and hopefully we’ll get the chance soon,” she added.

‘Unrealistic’

But as calls for tougher gun control mount, leaders of the House of Representatives said yesterday imposing a total gun ban may be unrealistic.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said a total gun ban, as called for by some groups, is ideal only if there are no proliferating loose or illegal firearms.

“No question we need greater firearm control,” Belmonte said.

The House in January passed on third and final reading House Bill 5484 or the Comprehensive Regulation of Firearms, Light Weapons and Ammunition. The bill seeks to repeal Presidential Decree 1866.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Rep. Sherwin Tugna said he would only support a total gun ban if the government will “confiscate each and every loose and illegal firearm all over the country.”

“I believe that the more realistic approach would be a stricter gun control policy and a more ‘to the letter’ execution of our existing gun laws,” Tugna said.

He said that unlike in the US where the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Constitution, the Philippines does not have any provisions in its Constitution that explicitly states the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

Tugna, however, said that the right to keep and bear arms is a natural right of Filipinos in a democratic Philippines.

“The proper and very stringent issuance of gun licenses to would-be gun owners would certainly make a difference,” he said.

“Total gun ban will not effectively prevent use of firearms to commit crimes. What needs to be done is to enforce the existing laws strictly and make sure that only people who are responsible and qualified to carry firearms would be given licenses,” he added.

“Whether we like it or not, guns are a reality. On the one hand, it can be used to take life away, but on the other, it may also be used to protect life. Effective regulation and stricter gun control laws are what the state can do in order to strike a balance, which would be beneficial and acceptable to all. For the gun owners, responsible gun ownership is of the utmost importance,” Tugna said.

Also expressing his position against a total gun ban was Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr.

“If guns will be banned, only law-abiding citizens will give up their arms, while lawless elements will continue to use firearms in their crimes. Criminals will all the more proliferate as they will find ordinary citizens almost defenseless without their weapons,” Revilla said.

He said Jamaica remains the murder capital of the world despite a total gun ban imposed by its government.

“A gunless society is a problem-solution mismatch. It’s not about the existence of firearms. It’s about the peacekeeping forces not doing their jobs,” Revilla added.

For former senator Ernesto Maceda, Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II should prove he is serious about stamping out gun-related crimes by seizing 500,000 unlicensed firearms across the country.

Maceda said many unlicensed firearms were smuggled – some even came in balikbayan boxes.

“There should be a concerted effort among all government agencies as well as Congress to end the lax treatment on unlicensed firearms,” Maceda said.

Maceda also appealed to Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima to review and tighten the rules on the issuance of licenses and permit to carry guns.

“It is well known that any applicant can get a license by paying as low as P15,000 to the firearms and explosives division of the PNP,” Maceda said. “The proliferation of so many guns is a major cause for the high crime rate, especially holdups and killings.”

No to death penalty

Sen. Francis Escudero, for his part, rejected calls yesterday for the re-imposition of death penalty, saying “it is still the certainty of punishment, not its severity, that will deter crimes.”

“The death penalty will not stop miscreants from carrying out their crimes,” said Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights.

Escudero was one of the lawmakers who voted to remove the death penalty from the country’s statute books in 1990.

“Even if the death penalty is in place, criminals, especially the moneyed ones, will still find creative ways to escape the arms of the law,” he said.

He cited the cases of fugitive military officer Jovito Palparan, the Reyes brothers of Palawan accused as masterminds in the death of a journalist and environmental advocate, and Delfin Lee, who was said to have bilked thousands of poor aspiring house owners.

“They can afford to hire good, expensive lawyers to keep them out of jail and outside the reach of the law,” Escudero said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, reiterated yesterday his proposal that civilians be barred from carrying firearms outside their homes.

“Firearms are for self-defense and protection of properties from intruders, and not for offensive action by the possessor,” he said. With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano