MANILA –  Various stakeholders from the firearms industry and shooting enthusiasts expressed reservations about certain provisions in House bills seeking to introduce amendments to Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. 

House Bill No. 893 filed by 1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Michael Romero primarily aims to increase the penalty for failure to report lost or stolen firearms to P100,000 from the current P10,000, among other amendments.

House Bill No. 9718 filed by CIBAC Party-list Rep. Eduardo Villanueva seeks to amend the law to provide the maximum limit of an individual to own and possess firearms. 

Under the bill, it specifies "Type 5" license holders or certified gun collectors to be allowed 20 regulated firearms. Those found with more than 20 firearms will  be required to return the excess to the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office.

House Bill No. 11141, filed by House Committee on Public Order and Safety Chairperson Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, aims to amend several provisions to ensure law-abiding citizens will not be deprived of their right to legally own firearms.

"Ang mga panukalang ito ay naghahangad na pagbutihin pa ang mga nasabing batas upang mabigyan ng sapat at karagdagang proteksyon ang mamamayan. Kasabay ng pagpapahalaga sa karapatan ng legitimate gun owners, ito ang mga prinsipyo na gagabay sa ating usapin ngayon," Fernandez said.

He said the discussion is timely following the imposition of the gun ban for the 2025 national and local elections which began on Sunday.

"Maraming nagsasabi na responsible at lehitimong gun owners lang ang pinapahintulutan na gumamit ng firearms nila sa panahong ito, ngunit ang gun ban ay pinapawalang bisa ang mga lumalabag sa batas… Nais natin mabigyan ng liwanag ang mga isyu na ito upang mabawasan ang election related violence na dinaranas ng ating bansa," Fernandez added.

OPPOSITION TO LIMITING FIREARMS

In the House panel hearing on Monday, stakeholders from the firearms industry and shooting enthusiasts aired their concern on the proposed bills.

"We are very happy that these House bills are being taken up. We have no opposition and we truly support the need to have peace and order in our country. However,  we do have to emphasize that there are illegal manufacturers, illegal dealers and owners of illegal firearms that put a bad light on the industry," Firearms Association of the Philippines President Gina Angangco said. 

She raised opposition to the amendment in the bill filed by Rep. Villanueva.

"The balance of firearms in excess of 20 are supposed to be surrendered without compensation. It was allowed, these people are not the ones who committed the crimes," Angangco said.

"Based on the statistics we heard, legal firearms only account for .005% of crimes involved in firearms. This is very small... If we are going to look at the efforts put on controlling and further regulating the legal industry, without doing more against the illegal industry, we are being put at a disadvantage when we follow the law carefully," she added.

Metroarms Corporation's Atty. Hector Rodriguez echoed the sentiment on the provision.

"Our comment is just, it is confiscatory in nature, it is unconstitutional, it constitutes an unlawful taking of one's property without due process of law and without just compensation," he said. 

Charles Rico of online community Philippine Ricochet Lines is against the proposal, but if it will be passed he said compensation should be included.

"With all due respect to this proposal, this is practically legalized confiscation of hard-earned property. This is legalized theft and will be very unfair for people to own more than 20 firearms to just surrender it to authorities without any compensation whatsoever," he said. 

Rico pointed out that there will be issues if we tighten restrictions on license for firearms.

"We all want safety. Our firearms laws in the Philippines at present are actually doing a very good job in keeping the public safe. However, I believe there is a false dichotomy here between having to choose between safety and accessibility. The reality here is we can have both," he said.

"The more we restrict firearms ownership, the more loose firearms proliferate. It is very easy for criminals to acquire firearms illegally. If we make it very difficult for people to own firearms, it will mean criminals will have a bigger advantage over us," Rico added.

Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers Comptroller Alaric Topacio meanwhile underscored the need to strengthen law enforcement to combat illegal arms trade and support the "thriving" firearms industry.

"The issue is not with responsible law abiding citizens who legally own and use firearms. The real problem lies with the criminals who possess illegal weapons and use to them to commit crimes. We must be careful not to allow laws meant to curb criminal behavior to penalize those who comply with regulations and are committed to using firearms responsibly," he said. 

"The goal is not to punish responsible firearm owners but to protect our society from criminal activity involving illegal firearms. Through these amendments, we can nurture an industry that benefits our economy and strengthen our national security," Topacio added. 

House panel vice chairperson Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop questioned why an ordinary individual, who is not a certified gun collector, would need 15-20 guns.

"Sinasabi nila the right to own firearms is the right to self-defense. Hindi po ba? Kaya gusto niyo ng firearms is for self defense… Why should one have 20 firearms if the purpose is for self-protection or self-defense?" he asked.

Topacio explained this is because licensed gun owners, such as sports shooters, need multiple guns to use in competitions. Gun collectors may also want to be updated with new technology or new kinds of guns.

"I will stand at the plenary to object to that if these bills will pass the committee level. I wouldn't agree na payagan na kailangan meron kang 20 firearms. Gusto ko bumalik sa dati," Acop said. 

He cited his time in the Philippine National Police, when he said individuals would only be allowed one short and one long firearm.

STIFFER PENALTIES TOO MUCH?

Stakeholders believe increasing the penalties for failure to report lost firearms as proposed in House Bill No. 893 will be detrimental to licensed owners.

Rico said government should encourage citizens to report, instead of making it difficult.

"We want to incentivize reporting of lost firearms and not to penalize it. If we are to make sure people report, we want to make it easy for them to report these things and not punish them for it. For us here in Metro Manila, it's easy to do these reports. But if you're in the provinces it's very hard and OFWs especially," he said. 

He said the P100,000 proposal is excessive, costing way more than an actual firearm.

Atty. Rodriguez also opposed the imposition of stricter penalties, calling it "too excessive."

Sports shooters and enthusiasts shared the challenges they faced due to the limitations on the permit to transport firearms outside of residence and the number of rounds of ammunition they can purchase and carry for practice and competitions.

They said the need for an increase is justified by their practices for upcoming competitions.

PNP Firearms and Explosives Office's PBGen. Ericson Dilag said some proposed amendments "ensure the law remains responsive to the needs of licensed citizens and the industry."

But he expressed reservation with certain provisions in the House bills.

"The PNP would like to express regarding certain provisions especially the number of ammunition that may be expressed by a citizen. With this reservation, the PNP is open to discussing the detail of concern with end goal of coming up with a consensus that will not compromise national security and safety," he said. 

The PNP-FEO said there are 545,742 firearms that can be considered "loose firearms" sinve they cannot be renewed due to revocation. Its universal data showed there are over 2.7 million registered or licensed firearms in the country.

Meantime, representatives from other government and law enforcement agencies like the Department of Defense and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency expressed general support for the measures, pending submission of their position papers.

"This representation expresses its full support in conducting this public hearing and investigation in aid legislation as our department recognizes the need to ensure responsible gun ownership shall be observed and to put and end to the proliferation of illegal firearms," Department of Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Juabilly Racho said.

Before the hearing was adjourned, the House panel approved a motion to create a technical working group headed by Rep. Acop.