ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) is optimistic that
with the implementation of the new gun-control law this month,
investigators will have a way to easily identify the firearms and the
owners of the guns behind the stray bullets that victimize innocent
civilians during the New Year revelry.
The PNP said Republic Act 10591, also known as the Comprehensive
Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, covers not only civilian gun
owners but also soldiers and policemen who have government-issued
firearms.
The new law was approved last year and will be implemented starting this month.
On January 2 last year, seven-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella died in the hospital after suffering from a stray bullet wound that hit her while watching fireworks near her home in Tala, Caloocan City just before the year 2012 ended.
Until now, no one has been punished yet for her death.
PNP records from December 16, 2013 to 9 a.m. of January 2 this year showed that stray bullets have already victimized at least 28 people.
Fifteen people -- a soldier, a jail guard, two security guards, three policemen and eight civilians -- have been arrested for unauthorized discharge of firearms, the PNP said.
The PNP believes the new gun-control law will help forensic investigators in trying to piece the puzzle behind bullet slugs, guns and gun owners as the law mandates all firearms, including government-issued guns, to undergo ballistic examination before being put to service.
Only three months into his position, PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) director Chief Superintendent Louie Oppus said a corrupt system is partly to blame for the suffering of stray bullet victims.
Oppus said he found out that the FEO had previously issued licenses to gun owners despite deficiencies in their requirements.
Their licenses were usually facilitated by "fixers" with the help of other erring gun owners and policemen, he said.
He said the corrupt system accommodated gun owners who used fake mailing addresses and supplied contact numbers which were just usually given by the fixers.
This resulted in deficiencies in requirements including court clearances, drug test clearance, neuro-psychiatric clearance, gun safety and responsible gun ownership seminar certificate, police clearance, birth certificate, proof of billing, valid IDs, income tax return (ITR), and certificate of employment.
Oppus said it is now the end of the road for the old system.
He said the PNP is also now laying the ground for the computerization of the firearm license application to minimize human intrusion in the process.
Meanwhile, the new gun-control law also imposes stiffer penalties for illegal possession of firearms: 8 years and 1 day to 10 years in prison for small arms; 10 years and 1 day to 12 years in prison for class A light weapons; reclusion perpetua for class B light weapons; and reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua to 3 or more small arms or class A light weapons.
The PNP may revoke, cancel or suspend the license of gun owners on various grounds including the commission of a crime involving the firearm, loss of firearm through negligence, carrying of firearm without proper permit and in prohibited places, and submission of falsified documents in license application. - With a report from Jorge Carino, ABS-CBN News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/01/02/14/new-gun-control-law-be-implemented-month
The new law was approved last year and will be implemented starting this month.
On January 2 last year, seven-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella died in the hospital after suffering from a stray bullet wound that hit her while watching fireworks near her home in Tala, Caloocan City just before the year 2012 ended.
Until now, no one has been punished yet for her death.
PNP records from December 16, 2013 to 9 a.m. of January 2 this year showed that stray bullets have already victimized at least 28 people.
Fifteen people -- a soldier, a jail guard, two security guards, three policemen and eight civilians -- have been arrested for unauthorized discharge of firearms, the PNP said.
The PNP believes the new gun-control law will help forensic investigators in trying to piece the puzzle behind bullet slugs, guns and gun owners as the law mandates all firearms, including government-issued guns, to undergo ballistic examination before being put to service.
Only three months into his position, PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) director Chief Superintendent Louie Oppus said a corrupt system is partly to blame for the suffering of stray bullet victims.
Oppus said he found out that the FEO had previously issued licenses to gun owners despite deficiencies in their requirements.
Their licenses were usually facilitated by "fixers" with the help of other erring gun owners and policemen, he said.
He said the corrupt system accommodated gun owners who used fake mailing addresses and supplied contact numbers which were just usually given by the fixers.
This resulted in deficiencies in requirements including court clearances, drug test clearance, neuro-psychiatric clearance, gun safety and responsible gun ownership seminar certificate, police clearance, birth certificate, proof of billing, valid IDs, income tax return (ITR), and certificate of employment.
Oppus said it is now the end of the road for the old system.
He said the PNP is also now laying the ground for the computerization of the firearm license application to minimize human intrusion in the process.
Meanwhile, the new gun-control law also imposes stiffer penalties for illegal possession of firearms: 8 years and 1 day to 10 years in prison for small arms; 10 years and 1 day to 12 years in prison for class A light weapons; reclusion perpetua for class B light weapons; and reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua to 3 or more small arms or class A light weapons.
The PNP may revoke, cancel or suspend the license of gun owners on various grounds including the commission of a crime involving the firearm, loss of firearm through negligence, carrying of firearm without proper permit and in prohibited places, and submission of falsified documents in license application. - With a report from Jorge Carino, ABS-CBN News
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/01/02/14/new-gun-control-law-be-implemented-month
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