A group of lawmakers has called for a nationwide review of the government’s systems for the custody, safekeeping and accountability of firearms issued to, owned or possessed by public officials and employees following three school shooting incidents in the past three months.
Akbayan Party-list Reps. Chel Diokno, Percival Cendaña and Dadah Ismula, along with Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, filed House Resolution 1468 on Tuesday seeking a comprehensive and impartial audit, accounting and physical inspection of the firearms.
The resolution cited recent school shooting incidents in Tacloban City, Zamboanga City and Banga, South Cotabato.
According to the resolution, the firearms used in the Tacloban and Zamboanga incidents were issued to a police staff sergeant and a Bureau of Customs employee, respectively. The firearm used in the Banga incident was privately owned by a Department of Education employee.
Diokno said the government should ensure that firearms assigned to or owned by public employees are properly secured and inaccessible to unauthorized persons.
“Kailangan nang kumilos ang ating pamahalaan upang mapigilan ang ganitong mga insidente. Hindi sapat na may tala tayo kung kanino nakatalaga ang mga baril. Kailangang matiyak na ang bawat baril ay maayos na iniingatan, nababantayan, at hindi na-a-access ng mga hindi awtorisadong tao” (The government already needs to act in order to prevent incidents like these. It’s not enough that we have a list of who the guns are assigned to. There must be assurance that each firearm is being properly taken care of, monitored, and must not be accessed by unauthorized persons), Diokno said in a news release Wednesday.
“Mas nakababahala dahil mga menor de edad ang nakakuha ng access sa mga baril at nagamit ang mga ito upang manakit at pumatay sa loob ng paaralan” (It’s more disturbing because minors were able to access the guns and they were used to harm and kill inside the school), he added.
The resolution tasks the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP-FEO), which serves as the repository and regulatory body for firearm records in the Philippines, to conduct a comprehensive safety audit and physical accounting of firearms issued to, owned or possessed by public officials and employees.
It also calls on the PNP-FEO to establish a uniform framework for the audit covering the records, physical possession, authorization, condition and safekeeping of the firearms.
The lawmakers further proposed reviewing existing implementing rules and regulations based on the audit findings and adopting appropriate administrative and legal measures against firearms found to be lost, missing, unaccounted for, improperly secured or otherwise held in violation of laws, regulations and agency policies.
The resolution also calls for the audit results to be submitted to the House, including identified discrepancies and deficiencies and the corrective measures taken by concerned agencies.
“Accountability must not end with recording who was issued a firearm. We must also account for how it is stored, how it is secured, and how it is kept out of the hands of unauthorized persons. A comprehensive audit is a necessary first step toward closing these gaps and preventing more tragedies,” Diokno said.
Photo courtesy of Manila Bulletin
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