Team DailyPedia
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla has called on Congress to review laws governing loose firearms, including Republic Act No. 8294, which has been informally referred to as the ‘Robin Padilla Law.’
Remulla made the appeal amid discussions surrounding recent school shooting incidents, including the deadly shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University on August 18.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Remulla argued that the law contributed to the rise in crimes involving loose firearms because possession of undocumented firearms became bailable.
“The Robin Padilla Law which extinguished culpability and and made it an available offense has led to a surge of crime precisely because loose firearms is a bailable offense,” Remulla said.
He urged lawmakers to reconsider the provision and make the offense non-bailable once again.
“I call upon Congress to review laws on loose firearms. We went through the numbers, 98% of gun crimes are committed with loose firearms,” he said.
“I call upon Congress to make laws that make it once again non-bailable, that make it once again preventable,” he added.
Remulla also called for stricter accountability for dismissed personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) who continue to possess firearms or use their former uniforms to impersonate authorities.
“I call upon Congress to help us fight criminality. Penalizing, dismissed AFP and PNP personnel from owning not only firearms but also their uniforms,” he said.
“Recent crimes have been committed by the use of dismissed AFP and PNP personnel using their previous uniforms identifying themselves as police. That should be a crime as well,” he added.
The issue came to the fore following the August 18 shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, where two people, including the Grade 9 student identified as the shooter, were killed. The student was considered a Child in Conflict with the Law (CICL). Another person was injured.
Remulla said the firearms used in two recent school shooting incidents were government-owned or government-issued firearms.
In the Ateneo case, the student allegedly obtained the firearms from his father, a Bureau of Customs employee. Remulla said the student was able to bring the firearms into the school after arriving in his father’s vehicle, which meant he did not undergo the same security screening imposed on pedestrians.
“Ateneo de Zamboanga had 25 security guards, with 15 on duty that morning and 10 on duty that night. The system at Ateneo is that if you enter through the pedestrian gate, your bag is inspected,” Remulla explained.
“The student rode in his father’s car, who drove him to school, so he was no longer subjected to a frisk or security check. Since he arrived by car, he was not inspected. The student proceeded directly, got off at the basement and went straight upstairs,” he added.
Remulla questioned whether gun owners should also face accountability when firearms are improperly secured and subsequently used by minors.
“Ang penalty ng paggamit ng legal guns kung kinuha lang ng bata sa magulang o guardian ang penalty ay reckless imprudence lamang. Walang penalty ang may hawak ng baril, ang may-ari baril,” he said.
“Ang penalty sa bata na bumaril ay treated as a juvenile. Isn’t the owner of the gun equally responsible?” he added.
The student’s father, who works for the Bureau of Customs, was reportedly suspended and removed from his post following the incident.
The Ateneo shooting was not the only recent school shooting in the country. In June, three students were killed after two minors allegedly opened fire inside a school in Tacloban City. The firearms used in that incident were reportedly owned by a relative of the two minors, who were subsequently arrested.
