Palace OKs gun amnesty in October
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/09/2009 6:38 PM
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The Arroyo administration has approved a general amnesty for owners of loose firearms to register their guns and get licensed, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said Thursday.
Golez said Executive Order 817 allows owners of loose firearms to register at a police station and pay P1,000 for every unlicensed firearm and a smaller fee for every firearm with expired license. He said owners of loose firearms can register and pay their fines for the whole month of October 2009 .
PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa earlier offered rewards to tipsters who will help crack down on an estimated 1.1 million loose firearms in the country.
Verzosa said loose firearms have several categories: formerly licensed firearms with expired registration (550,000), individual persons with unlicensed guns (520,000) and firearms handled by rebels and criminal elements (15,000 to 20,000).
"We have a reward system right now to account for loose firearms. Our proposal is to give P50,000 for recovery of three to five firearms. If there is increased recovery for stashes of firearms, we will evaluate the reward to be given," he said.
He added that the Office of the President has allotted P5 millon for the campaign against loose firearms.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed the Philippines ranked tenth among the countries with a high rate of gun-related homicides, Verzosa said.
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