ONLY qualified gun holders under the approved revisions in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013 will be allowed to own semi automatic and light firearms, the Journal Group learned.

PNP Civil Security Group (CSG) director Major General Benjamin H. Silo Jr. said that under the revised IRR of RA 10591 approved by PNP chief General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr., qualified civilians will be allowed to own a semi-automatic rifle from caliber 7.62 below.

The official maintained no civilians will be allowed to buy and own automatic weapons under the revised rules.

An automatic firearm continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated.

A semi-automatic firearm is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism automatically loads a following round of cartridge into the chamber and prepares it for subsequent firing, but requires the shooter to manually actuate the trigger in order to discharge each shot.

Silo corrected a claim by former Vice President Noli de Castro that a semi-automatic weapon will fire 1,000 rounds of ammunition in just a single squeeze of its trigger.

According to PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean S. Fajardo, a Technical Working Group made the final recommendation to the PNP leadership.

Thus, minor assessments were made to the IRR particularly in Section 36.6, allowing private citizens to own a licensed semi-automatic rifle, specifically those chambered in 7.62 or lower.

When RA 10591 was passed into law in 2013, civilians who are already licensed owners of cal. 5.56 rifles were allowed to hold on to those weapons with the condition that they should renew their licenses on time and they cannot sell the rifle to another person.

The Journal Group learned that last February 5, the TWG studied the possibility of allowing the registration of rifles to licensed citizens which under the Revised IRR 2018 of RA 10591, the registration of the same was limited to sports shooting purposes only.

After a thorough discussion and deliberation, the TWG, chaired by Lyndon A. Mencio, agreed to recommend that rifles should not be limited to sports shootings only and that the registration of rifles to licensed citizens should be allowed consistent with the provision of Section 10 and definition of rifle under Section 3, (dd) (2) of RA 10591.

Moreover, pursuant to Section 44, Article VI of RA 10591, the Chief of the PNP, after public hearing and consultations with concerned sectors of the society exercised his mandated rule-making power and issued the Implementing Rules and Regulations.

Thus, last February 12, Silo requested Acorda to approve the TWG’s recommendation to amend the definition of rifle under Section 3, paragraph 3.66 of the 2018 Revised IRR of RA 10591.

By amending certain provisions of Section 3.66 of the 2018 Revised IRR of RA 10591 approved by then PNP chief General Oscar D. Albayalde on May 9, 2018, the TWG noted that in the previous IRR, ‘only small arms may be registered by licensed citizens or licensed juridical entities for ownership, possession and concealed carry.’

It also noted that in RA 10591, ‘small arms is defined and further classified as handgun, rifle and shotgun.’

The law says that ‘small arms refer to firearms intended to be or primarily designed for individual use or that which is generally considered to mean a weapon intended to be fired from the hand or shoulder.

RA 10591 says a handgun includes a pistol which is a hand-operated firearm having a chamber integral with or permanently alighted with the bore which may be self-loading; and a revolver which is a hand-operated firearm with a revolving cylinder containing chambers for individual cartridges.

On the other hand, a rifle is defined as a shoulder firearm or designed to be fired from the shoulder that can discharge a bullet through a rifled barrel.

A shotgun is defined as a weapon designed, made and intended to fire a number of ball shots or a single projectile through a smooth bore by the action or energy from burning gunpowder.

Under the amended section, the definition of small arms’ which include a pistol, a revolver and a shotgun were changed as above.

The CSG also endorsed a resolution recommending to Acorda the amendment of the definition of ‘rifle’ under the same section for the purpose of registration to licensed citizens.

Whereas before, the 2018 Revised IRR made it known to only small arms may be registered to licensed citizens, the CSG-TWG recommended changes in the IRR which now allow licensed citizens to own rifles.