PNP targets fraction of loose arms
OLIVER TEVES, AP
08/18/2009 | 06:07 PM
Police launched a new campaign to rid the country of unregistered firearms blamed for fueling crime, terrorism and insurgency but the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said Tuesday only a fraction would likely be collected.
The program is expected to yield only 3 percent of an estimated 1.1 million loose firearms, said PNP chief Director General Jesus Versoza. The target is realistic in a country with "cultural propensity" for gun possession, he told reporters.
More than 15,000 firearms are in the hands of communist and Muslim rebels and al-Qaida-linked militants while crime gangs have about 6,000 guns, he said.
Unregistered firearms account for nearly half of 2.3 million guns in the country.
Police said about 98 percent of gun-related crimes from 2004 to 2008 were committed with loose firearms. UN figures show that the Philippines ranked 10th worldwide in 2005 for homicides involving guns.
Verzosa said police will allow the registration of loose firearms without penalty under an amnesty program until Oct. 31. It will cover handguns, shotguns and rifles not exceeding 7.62 mm caliber.
"We are very optimistic that crime incidents will come down" as a result of the firearms control program, he said.
Nationwide, expired gun licenses are estimated to total more than 559,000 while unregistered firearms number about 530,000, according to police statistics.
The southern Mindanao region, where a Muslim insurgency has been raging for decades alongside a communist rebellion, accounts for more than 358,000, or more than a third of all loose firearms, the statistics show.
Verzosa said police were seeking stiffer penalties for illegal firearms, including making possession of three or more guns a non-bailable offense.
The maximum jail term for illegal possession of weapons is 12 years. - AP
The program is expected to yield only 3 percent of an estimated 1.1 million loose firearms, said PNP chief Director General Jesus Versoza. The target is realistic in a country with "cultural propensity" for gun possession, he told reporters.
More than 15,000 firearms are in the hands of communist and Muslim rebels and al-Qaida-linked militants while crime gangs have about 6,000 guns, he said.
Unregistered firearms account for nearly half of 2.3 million guns in the country.
Police said about 98 percent of gun-related crimes from 2004 to 2008 were committed with loose firearms. UN figures show that the Philippines ranked 10th worldwide in 2005 for homicides involving guns.
Verzosa said police will allow the registration of loose firearms without penalty under an amnesty program until Oct. 31. It will cover handguns, shotguns and rifles not exceeding 7.62 mm caliber.
"We are very optimistic that crime incidents will come down" as a result of the firearms control program, he said.
Nationwide, expired gun licenses are estimated to total more than 559,000 while unregistered firearms number about 530,000, according to police statistics.
The southern Mindanao region, where a Muslim insurgency has been raging for decades alongside a communist rebellion, accounts for more than 358,000, or more than a third of all loose firearms, the statistics show.
Verzosa said police were seeking stiffer penalties for illegal firearms, including making possession of three or more guns a non-bailable offense.
The maximum jail term for illegal possession of weapons is 12 years. - AP
