Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday said the police should now be allowed to inspect the homes of persons who had been issued firearms by the government, to check how they are keeping their guns away from unauthorized users.
Remulla’s proposal was the latest offshoot of two recent deadly school shootings-in Tacloban City and Zamboanga City-where the attackers were both minors who managed to get hold of loaded firearms licensed to members of their family.
During the House committee hearing on the budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Remulla said his agency would propose amendments to gun regulations to make it legal for the police to check on the safekeeping of firearms in private homes.
‘What we are proposing is that the IRR (implementing rules and regulations) have to be amended,’ the Cabinet official said in response to questions from Akbayan Rep. Dadah Ismula.
‘The PNP (Philippine National Police) will be granted access to all homes of lawfully issued firearms to inspect their procedures in safekeeping,’ Remulla said.
He was referring to the IRR of the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, or Republic Act No. 10591.
Still a privilege
According to the secretary, around 800,000 personnel in the uniformed services alone have been issued firearms.
They are responsible for keeping the guns secure at all times, he said.
‘This (proposal) might upset a few people because… it might be interpreted as an infringement of rights. However, we must remember that the privilege to own a gun is not enshrined in our Constitution,’ he explained.
Earlier this month, Remulla also urged Congress to repeal a 1997 law and reclassify the offense of illegal possession of firearms from being bailable to nonbailable.