SC orders PNP to explain defiance of gun scheme TRO

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered top officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to answer a petition for contempt accusing them of defying a temporary restraining order (TRO) on its new firearms licensing system.

In a resolution released yesterday, the high court directed PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima and officials of the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office, led by Superintendent Moro Virgilio Mazo, to submit a comment on the petition filed by the Peaceful Responsible Owners of Guns Inc. (Progun) last month.

The respondents were given 10 days from receipt of notice to comply with the order. 

The SC, however, deferred action on Progun’s plea for the PNP to suspend the expiration of all firearms licenses last April due to the legal issues hounding the new scheme for issuance of gun licenses and permits based on Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act of 2013. 

It said it would rule on the plea once the petition for contempt is settled. 

In its petition, Progun alleged that the PNP has been violating the TRO by continuing to implement the new scheme.

Progun said gun owners are still being required to reapply for firearms licenses and submit a lengthy list of requirements first before their licenses could be renewed. 

Gun owners are also required to bring their firearms to Camp Crame in  Quezon City, regardless of where they live, to have the firearm subjected to ballistics tests and recorded in a database, the group added.

The SC order prohibits the PNP from centralizing all gun regulatory processes – including submission of requirements, testing and licensing – in its headquarters in Camp Crame.

The TRO also covered the outsourcing of firearms license delivery by courier and the warrantless searches of homes in the guise of firearms inspection.

The high court issued the order upon petitions of Progun and Gun Owners in Action, which questioned the constitutionality of the new law.