Minority reps to file resolution to probe Llamas, guns

MANILA, Philippines—The House minority bloc will file a resolution seeking to probe Secretary Ronald Llamas to determine whether he has the license to carry high-powered firearms and whether the permit extended to his security staff.

Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said that the investigation would help the Lower House fine-tune the country’s law on gun control.

Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said the Philippine National Police should explain how Llamas was able to secure a permit for high-powered firearms, including an AK-47, and whether he should be punished for letting his security guards carry the firearms in his absence.

But House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. shot down the proposed probe even before the minority had filed its resolution.

“I think we have more important things to do. If it was not an AK-47 which evoked a lot of images in our mind, nobody would have paid any attention to it,” said Belmonte.