Rules for gun amnesty readied

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police is preparing the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the proposed gun amnesty from July 1 to Oct. 31 this year.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said the police are waiting for President Arroyo to approve the nationwide amnesty plan.

PNP Civil Security Group (CSG) director Chief Superintendent Ireno Bacolod told The STAR that the PNP is already preparing the IRR for the gun amnesty so the police can implement the program.

Bacolod said the implementation of the four-month gun amnesty is part of the effort to minimize election-related violence during the 2010 elections brought about by the proliferation of loose firearms.

Sources said the gun amnesty plan has been technically approved and will be implemented starting July 1.

Verzosa said some unscrupulous gun-runners and smugglers are taking advantage of the gun amnesty, since the PNP allows gun holders to register a firearm regardless of where it was found, provided it has no criminal record.

He said the proposed gun amnesty should serve as a warning to holders of loose firearms that the PNP will intensify the crackdown against loose firearms.

The PNP estimates that there are 1.1 million loose firearms in the country and more than half involve expired licenses that were not renewed by the owner, while the rest belong to threat groups, criminal elements and the general population.

Verzosa said the PNP would ask Congress to come up with measures that would call for the imprisonment of firearms holders who fail to renew their gun licenses.

He said the PNP has already submitted its proposal to the National Police Commission (Napolcom), including a study on measures that seek imprisonment of firearms holders who fail to renew their licenses.

Under the proposal, Verzosa said firearms with licenses that had expired for more than six months would be considered loose firearms and the registered owners might be charged and suffer a penalty of six months in jail if convicted.

Verzosa had earlier announced that the PNP was working on guidelines to support their plans for requesting local government units and local police to conduct house-to-house inspections to remind gun holders to renew expired firearm licenses.

Meanwhile, the PNP will allocate P5 million from the agency’s P25-million special fund to reward people who provide information leading to the seizure of loose firearms.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina told reporters yesterday that Malacañang has already cleared the release of P25 million for the PNP Reward System.

Espina said that under the reward system, those who give information would get rewards based on the type and number of firearms seized by the police based on the information provided.

“Anyone who could provide us with information leading to the seizure of loose firearms will get a reward. The more firearms seized, the higher the reward,” said Espina.

Espina said Verzosa has designated the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) under Police Director Raul Bacalzo as the office primarily responsible for the implementation of the Reward System.

The Board of Officers on Reward (BOR) would administer the PNP Reward System.

The BOR is composed of the Director for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) as chairman as well as the directors of the following units: Intelligence, Operations, Police Community Relations, Comptrollership, Legal Service, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the Intelligence Group.

The PNP earlier recommended the payment of rewards amounting to P17.375 million for any information leading to the arrest of suspects involved in 96 cases of violence against 73 government officials, 15 militant activists, and eight journalists.

Espina said the Reward System would not preclude other individuals, organizations and sectors that may voluntarily offer or provide incentives or rewards for the immediate solving of cases. –With Mike Frialde