Senator Bato Dela Rosa has stressed the importance of his proposed amendment to Republic Act No. 10591 or the “Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act of 2013,” saying that it will be advantageous for all the stakeholders including the government, as it will also ensure additional revenue for the government coffers.
In an interview during the 27th AFAD Defense and Sporting Arms Show Part II in Quezon City recently, Dela Rosa said that under his Senate Bill No. 1155 or “An Act Fixing the Validity Period of the License to Own and Possess, Permit to Carry Outside of Residence or Place of Business and Registration of Firearms, Sections 7 and 19 of RA 10591 will be amended to extend the validity of licenses allowing the legal possession of guns as it also seeks to account for all the loose firearms in the country by relaxing the registration requirements.
“The spirit of that amendment is to account all loose firearms na naglilipana, so advantageous yan on the part of the government dahil nga mababawasan ang loose firearms. Dadami itong registered firearms na magiging under the control and regulation by the government.” The legislator said.
“After the conduct of our hearing nalaman natin from different sectors na walang disadvantage, lahat ay advantageous on the part of the stakeholders and even sa side ng law enforcement wala kaming nakitang disadvantage,” the lawmaker further noted.
“The bill will encourage more gun owners to renew their licenses.”
When asked if the said bill would encourage more gun owners to renew their licenses, the senator affirmed that his proposed measure would prompt license renewal.
“Yes, kasi per observation ng PNP malaki ang nawala, yung hindi nagpa-register ng baril nila because of the very short period (of validity) and mountainous requirements na very discouraging on the part of the gun owners that resulted to a big number of loose firearms,” he explained.
“We help them to be law abiding citizens.”
“So para ma-account yun, i-liberalize natin yung process at yung requirements para babalik sila at revenue ito on the part of the government at matutulungan pa natin yung gun owners para hindi maging criminal. We help them to be law abiding citizens,” Dela Rosa continued.
Under the proposed measure, firearms registration validity will be extended to five years from the current four years.
Dela Rosa said it is very practical to set a longer validity period for firearms licenses to allow gun owners to have their firearms licenses processed at the same time with their License To Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF).
This, Dela Rosa added, will fundamentally extend the capability of the gun owner to be responsible and his capacity to defend himself and his loved ones.
Another salient provision under the proposed measure is setting the LTOPF validity also for five years and will be renewed on the license holder’s date of birth. This would make the date of registration renewal easier for the gun owner to remember.
Lastly, the amendment also seeks to extend the validity period of the Permit To Carry Firearms Outside of Residence (PTCFOR) from current one year to two years.