Gun permits made easier

Getting a gun permit just became easier,  with the Philippine National Police  reducing the number of requirements needed and streamlining the application process to shorten the wait for its release.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said the 10 requirements for a license to own and possess firearms (LTOPF) have been reduced to just four: the neuro-psychiatric screening, drug test, police clearance and the RTC/MTC or NBI clearance.

“As we are streamlining the processes, we are further automating our system, so that [applicants] need not queue anymore. As President [Duterte] said, he does not want people falling in line for a government service,” Dela Rosa said on Thursday at the 24th Defense and Sporting Arms Show at a mall in Mandaluyong City.

Dela Rosa added that the PNP will be issuing “a commitment slip” to applicants when they apply for an LTOPF which will state how many days the processing [will take]  so that applicants need not keep going back to the PNP-Firearms and Explosives Office.

If the application was filed by 11 a.m., the commitment slip will state that the license is ready by 5 p.m. of the same day, the PNP chief said.  If the application was filed after 11 a.m., the permit will be available the following day,  he added.

The firearms and explosives officer who fails to release the license on the date and time stated in the commitment slip will be required to explain the delay to the applicant, Dela Rosa said.