Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros on recent news involving gun ownership rules in the Philippines

Hoarding high-powered weapons should not be a hobby, much less one enabled by law. Mas ligtas ang ating lipunan, at ang ating mga pamilya at paaralan, kung mababawasan ang mga baril na maaring gamitin sa pagpatay at iba pang krimen.

Malinaw na kailangan nang repasuhin ang mga batas ukol sa gun ownership sa Pilipinas. In this time of rampant killings and conflict, we need stronger regulations against the proliferation of firearms in our streets.

We must address the broken provisions of the law, which currently enable certain persons to own many high powered weapons. We need to amend Sec. 9, Article III of Republic Act 10591 - which allows so-called "gun collectors" to amass more than fifteen firearms without much explicit restrictions - and move in the direction of tighter, not looser, gun control.

Walang sibilyan ang dapat nakakapagshopping spree ng daan-daang baril. Talaga bang simpleng collector lang ang matatawag sa isang tao na may sapat na baril para sa militia o private army?

We should not allow anyone, especially politicians, business persons and their personnel, to own so many guns. We must fix our gun laws, and stop the rise of political killings and warlordism in our country.