A truck driver was arrested by police in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija last Thursday. His offense: illegal possession of four guns.
Police who served a search warrant issued by the Tarlac City Regional Trial Court said the driver was found in possession of three pistols, a revolver and 25 bullets. All the guns were not registered.
How does a truck driver obtain four guns in this country, and why does he need them? Is he a gun collector?
The ease of access to guns has been partly blamed for the tragedy at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, wherein two apparently radicalized students aged 14 and 15 shot dead three schoolmates and wounded 20 others.
Over 30 shots were fired from a 9mm Glock pistol issued as a service firearm to a policewoman who is an aunt of the 14-year-old shooter. Relieved from her post and facing dismissal proceedings, she claimed that she had kept the gun in a locked plastic container, but her nephew broke into her locked home and managed to get the pistol.
The unprecedented school violence has drawn attention to the proliferation of firearms both registered and unlicensed as well as liberal gun ownership laws.
Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act of 2013, effectively allows “certified gun collectors” to own an unlimited number of guns including rifles and shotguns.
The Philippine National Police is still trying to recover all of the 117 firearms registered under former PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa. The senator is on the run from an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which has tagged him as a “co-perpetrator” in the crimes against humanity case faced by former president Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague.
Duterte, a gun enthusiast, had 363 firearms registered in his name. What does one person need 363 guns for, or even 117?
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has said there are about 2.2 million registered firearms and over a million licensed gun owners all over the country.
The PNP previously said there are 4.12 million registered firearms and an estimated 1.7 million loose or unregistered guns nationwide.
That’s a lot of firepower that is prone to be used for illegal and deadly purposes. Little wonder that killings are common during elections, with politicians and their private armies settling rivalries through murder.
Now, besides political assassinations and organized crime, guns are being used by children to murder their schoolmates. Perhaps this latest development will finally prompt tighter gun regulation.