Remulla proposes non-bailable 20-year imprisonment for loose firearm holders

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla urged lawmakers on Tuesday, Aug. 25, to “take steps” and charge owners of loose firearms with a non-bailable 20-year jail term amid recent school shooting incidents.

The DILG secretary called on the legislative branch to amend Republic Act No. 8294, or the “Robin Padilla Law,” a regulation that made the illegal possession of firearms a bailable offense.

“We went through the numbers: 98 percent of gun crimes are committed with loose firearms. The Robin Padilla law, which extinguished culpability and made it a bailable offense, has led to a surge in crimes precisely because loose firearms is a bailable offense,” Remulla said.

“Now, when you catch someone with loose firearms, it’s bailable. Lalabas ka lang. You have a record pero bailable, then you go to a hearing. I’m asking Congress to take steps to make it non-bailable and to make it [punishable by a jail term of] 20 years,” he added.

Remulla’s proposal of tougher firearm laws came after incidents of school shootings in Tacloban City on June 22 and Zamboanga City on August 18, where minors opened fire using their relatives’ government-issued firearms.

The two campus attacks happened within a span of two months; both of them involved a student who was able to wield a firearm belonging to a family member.

The gun owners may be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, a penalty of Prisión Correccional or up to six years of imprisonment.

“Gun ownership also carries with it gun responsibility,” Remulla explained, maintaining that the government should have the right to inspect the homes of gun owners and ensure that the guns are in safekeeping.

“It is a privilege granted in the Philippines. It is a privilege, not a right,” he stressed.

“We have to be strict with all our policies with uniformed personnel and let them realize the gravity of the situation that’s happening,” Remulla added, expecting lawmakers to address his proposal in January next year.