COUNTDOWN starts before the crackdown on loose firearms begins in November.

Government authorities dangle the final gun registration amnesty in October, before police bringing down the full force of the law on transgressors immediately after that. By Executive Order 617 or the National Firearms Control Program, which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed recently, the country has put up a national policy on loose firearms, PSSupt Edgardo Ingking said. The new policy mandates a final amnesty on gun registration to finally beckon unlicensed gun-owners to have their guns accounted for and obtaining a license for it. At the recent Kapihan sa PIA, Bohol top-cop explained that accounting loose firearms becomes a government policy to cut down on crimes involving the use of firearms, and the potential abuse of such in the coming elections. Showing police statistics, Ingking pointed out that from 2004 to 2008, about 97.8% of gun related crimes involve the use of loose firearms across the country.

In Bohol , the Philippine National Police (PNP) estimates around 4,232 loose firearms including 2,567 guns with expired licenses. Threat groups like local rebels and criminal elements possess the rest of the unaccounted weapons, PSSupt Ingking said. According to Ingking, an individual who avails of the final amnesty from October 1-31 would exempt owners from penalties and surcharges relative to the expired licenses. He enjoys the much-streamlined licensing process and only pays the license fee from the nearest Land Bank branch. He said aside from the aggressive interdiction operations that police operatives are mandated in pursuance to the corresponding letter of instruction to the executive order, a parallel legislative agenda is pursued to lobby for an amendment to existing laws and imposing stiffer penalties for illegal possession.

For those availing of the gun registration and licensing amnesty, processing of papers start August 1-31 at the Police FEASAGS Division of Camp Dagohoy in Tagbilaran City. Gun owners availing of the amnesty however need to initially secure a permit to transport the weapon for licensing to be freed from any culpability should he be flagged down while on his way to register. In getting the permit at Camp Dagohoy , owners need to take the firearms serial numbers and present it to Camp Dagohoy , said PO3 Jesus Daplin of the PNP FEASAGS. (PIA)