THE Philippine National Police (PNP) will establish a rewards program for persons who can pinpoint the existence of loose firearms after the end of the gun amnesty period on October 31, DILG Sec. Ronaldo Puno said.
Puno said that once these loose or unlicensed guns are confiscated, the PNP might opt to donate them to the local police station in the barangay or town where these were seized.
Puno called on the public to cooperate with the government in its campaign against loose firearms, which he said, will contribute to the country’s peace and order problems.
The DILG chief earlier warned holders of unlicensed firearms that after the one-month gun amnesty period expire on Oct. 31, all guns not properly registered would be confiscated immediately and criminal charges would be filed against the owners in court.
The PNP, he said, has compiled a list of late registrants who will be given the chance during the gun amnesty period from Oct. 1 to 31 to update the registration of their firearms.
Prior to Oct. 1-31 amnesty period, the PNP received applications since Aug. 1 to accommodate those who would like to comply early with the law.
Gun owners who wish to register their unlicensed firearms can visit the PNP registration stations in the different towns and cities nationwide, Puno said.
The DILG and PNP are asking Congress to pass a law making illegal gun possession a non-bailable offense as part of the government’s new drive to reduce, if not totally eliminate, an estimated 1.1 million loose firearms in the country.
EO 817, which provides for a general amnesty for the registration of loose firearms, orders the PNP to conduct active police operations against unregistered firearms through random weapons checks in crime-prone areas; mobile checkpoint and chokepoint operations; intelligence build-up; internal security operations; application of search warrants; and dismantling of private armed groups.
Present PNP estimate places the number of loose firearms nationwide at 1.1 million which are in the hands of threat groups, criminal elements and unauthorized individuals. This number already included guns with expired licenses.
Puno, who visited Pagadian last week to attend the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) meeting and in his dialogue with Gov. Aurora Cerilles and local executives, called on officials to help carry out an information campaign on the gun amnesty program.