The number of expired firearm licenses has ballooned to more than 400,000. Of these, 80, 901 units belong to the Juridical or Security Service, the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP-FEO) said.
In an ABSCBN report, PNP-FEO chief S/Supt. Dennis Siervo said most gun owners complain that the new law on gun license renewal is sterner than before.
Under Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act, gun owners as well as buyers, are required to secure from a License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF), the requisite to register firearms. Mere renewal of gun license is no longer allowed.
The LTOPF has to be renewed every two years while the firearm should be registered every four years.
Among the requirements in securing the LTOPF are a duly notarized application form, neuro-psychiatric clearance, police clearance, NBI clearance, NSO birth certificate, finger printing, drug test result, municipal and regional trial court clearance certifying that the applicant has not been convicted of any crime, photos to be taken at the PNP-FEO office, and ballistics examination result.
Siervo said the PNP-FEO is looking at means to expedite the process, one of which is to enable gun owners to register their firearms online. But said move, he said, has to be approved by the PNP and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Siervo urged those with expired gun licenses to renew their licenses and secure LTOPF. He said those with expired licenses may be charged. To avoid that, they can deposit their firearms at the nearest police station or at the FEO, he added.
Those who will be found without LTOPF and with unregistered guns may be charged with illegal possession of firearms and slapped with other penalties.
