Docs block City’s firearm licenses

The new set of requirements required by the Philippine National Police (PNP) is one of the major reasons the Cebu City Government failed to renew the licenses of its firearms for over a year now.

In an interview yesterday, Department of General Services (GSO) Acting Head Ronald Malacora said they want to finish the renewal of the License to Own and Possess Firearms ( LTOPF) next month.

“We’re back to square one in processing the requirements because the documents that we submitted before are no longer the same with the requirements needed by the Firearms and Explosive Division in Camp Crame because there is a new set of officials sitting in the office concerned. They require another set of requirement,” he said.

To fast-track the processing, Malacora said his office has coordinated with the Firearms and Explosive Section, Regional Operations and Plans Division in processing the LTOPF.

Camp Crame has issued an individual LTOPF last March, but asking juridical LTOPF of Malacora and Mayor Tomas Osmeña is still needed.

Under the PNP’s website, a total of 10 required documents are needed for someone who is ap- plying for LTOPF.

These include two notarized application form from PNP, any clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation, Municipal Trial Court of Regional Trial Court, drug test result from the PNP Crime Laboratory, birth certificate, certificate of gun safety and responsible gun ownership seminar administered by PNP, proof of billing, one government identification card and any proof of income.

The City has at least 254 unlicensed firearms now.

Based on the Police Regional Office 7 records, licenses of 30 firearms has expired in March 2014 and the license of 219 others expired in March 2015.

Malacora admitted that the City started processing the renewal in 2015, but the previous administration reportedly failed to comply with the requirement to get the LTOPF.

The City used to issue at least 10 long firearms and over 50 short firearms to Cebu City Police Office while the remaining were issued to judges, department heads, and some barangay captains.

Malacora said the issue on unlicensed firearms is the reason the City did not issue these guns to the policemen assigned in the city. /