Bill seeking to extend validity of firearms licenses gets Senate nod
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Monday approved on final reading the bill seeking to extend the validity of the license to possess firearms and ammunition from two years to five years.
Senate Bill No. 1155, under Committee Report No. 19, was approved with 20 affirmative votes, no negative votes, and no abstention.
The bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10591 or the “Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act” extending the renewal of firearm registration from four years to five years.
Under the bill, the registration of a firearm shall be renewed every five years from the birthdate of the owner, and failure to do so will lead to revocation of the license.
Firearms with expired license will be confiscated and forfeited following due process.
Further, the bill seeks to extend the validity of permit to carry firearms outside of residence from one year to two years “from the date of the approval of the application, unless sooner revoked or suspended.”
The measure was filed in substitution of Senate Bill No. 275 introduced by Senate President Pro-tempore Ralph Recto and Senate Bill No. 1023 filed by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs which prepared the committee report containing the bill, noted the lack of practical renewal policies.
Dela Rosa said “license renewal means complying with voluminous documentary requirements and conditions.”
“In a country like ours, gun ownership is a privilege that is hidden behind numerous documentary requirements and countless conditions that must be met; then and only then can one avail of such privilege,” Dela Rosa said.
Data from the Firearms and Explosives Office of the Philippine National Police showed that the number of registered firearms increased from 1,650,353 in 2013 to 1,869,684 after the enactment of the RA 10591.
Further, the data showed that 45 per cent or 837,758 of the 1,869,684 previously registered firearms were not renewed as of August 31, 2019.
“This is exactly why we say that a mere increase in the number of registered firearms upon the implementation of RA 10591 is not considered an achievement, especially when a sizeable number of the owners choose not to renew their licenses despite the possible risk of imprisonment,” Dela Rosa said.
“To set the validity period of our firearms registration from four to five years is a practicable and obvious solution. It would serve us well if renewing our license to possess firearms comes at the same time that we renew the licenses of the firearms themselves,” he added.
Further, Dela Rosa said: “In effect, we are not just extending the validity of our firearms licenses; we are, more fundamentally, extending our capacity to be responsible, our capacity to defend ourselves and those whom we love.”
