SB wants stricter gun control

MANILA, Philippines - A stricter gun control policy is needed to help reduce the incidence of violence and crime in the country, according to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

He said yesterday measures on firearms regulations would most likely be among the issues that would be taken up when Congress convenes in July.

“I am for a policy of strict gun control,” Belmonte said following a Pulse Asia survey showing 67 percent of Filipinos believe that guns are among the reasons why crime and violence occur in the Philippines.

Marikina City Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, one of the authors of House Bill 5484 or the Comprehensive Regulation of Firearms, Light Weapons and Ammunition, also called for stricter rules on all types of firearms and its components.

“The proliferation of firearms is becoming rampant, making it easier for criminal entities to perform acts of violence,” Teodoro said.

“A gun control law must be upheld and fully enforced by concerned agencies and supported by the government to eradicate criminal acts,” he added.

The bill, approved in the House of Representatives, seeks to repeal Presidential Decree 1866 codifying the laws on illegal possession, manufacture, dealing in, acquisition or disposition of firearms, ammunition or explosives or instrument used in the manufacture of firearms, ammunition or explosives.

The Pulse Asia poll also showed that 75 percent of Filipinos support a gun control policy.