PNP resets implementation of final gun amnesty

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has reset the implementation of the final gun amnesty to account for half a million firearms with expired licenses.

“Last month we announced our tentative schedule of the final gun amnesty... that was supposed to be at the end of the third quarter…The amnesty is dependent on the approval of the revised IRR (implementing rules and regulations), which is now being refined,” said Senior Superintendent Sidney Hernia, chief of the licensing office of the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO).

 Hernia said a technical working group has submitted the proposed IRR to the command group, which is making the revisions, before it would be submitted to PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez for approval.

“We are not hurrying the approval of the IRR... there are some provisions which some stakeholders claimed are hard to follow,” he said.

Hernia said the PNP also identified some issues, including its implementation within the election period and the conduct of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference summit.

 The last gun amnesty was implemented in 2009.

Hernia said FEO data showed there are 1.7 million registered firearms and about 500,000 with expired licenses.

“We have approximately 600,000 licensees and each of them has different numbers of firearms, some of them have more than 15 firearms,” he added.

Hernia said the PNP continues to implement Oplan Katok to account for firearms with expired licenses.