MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo is pushing for tougher firearm-ownership rules, including mandatory inspections of a gun owner’s storage facility before the Philippine National Police (PNP) issues a License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF).
Tulfo made the proposal after the deadly Ateneo de Zamboanga University school shooting on August 18, in which two students died, including the alleged shooter. The incident has intensified scrutiny over how minors can gain access to firearms owned by adults.
Tulfo said authorities should first determine whether an applicant has a genuinely secure place to keep a firearm before an LTOPF is granted.
In practical terms, his proposal would shift part of the licensing process from simply determining whether an applicant is qualified to also verifying whether the applicant can securely store the weapon away from unauthorized users.
The Zamboanga shooting puts gun storage under the spotlight
The proposal comes as investigators continue looking into how a student was able to obtain firearms allegedly belonging to his father, a Customs police officer.
The August 18 attack at a school affiliated with Ateneo de Zamboanga University left two students dead and others injured. Authorities said the student brought firearms onto campus, with the incident becoming the second fatal school shooting in the Philippines in less than two months.
The Bureau of Customs subsequently relieved and placed the father under preventive suspension while the agency investigated the circumstances surrounding the firearms.
The case has consequently raised a crucial question beyond school security:
How did a minor get access to a legally owned firearm in the first place?
That question is now driving calls for greater accountability among firearm owners.
Tulfo: Gun owners should face consequences for improper use
Tulfo also called for stronger penalties against licensed firearm owners whose weapons are improperly accessed or used by another person.
His position is that firearm ownership comes with a corresponding responsibility to prevent unauthorized access.
The senator’s proposal comes alongside broader calls from government officials to revisit existing firearm regulations following the Zamboanga tragedy. The Department of the Interior and Local Government has likewise called for tighter gun laws and stronger accountability for negligent firearm owners.
What does Philippine law already require?
The proposal is significant because Republic Act No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, already contains firearm-storage requirements.
Under Section 9 of the law, applicants for firearm licenses are required to have a vault or a container secured by lock and key or other security measures for the safekeeping of firearms.
The law establishes five individual license categories, ranging from Type 1, covering up to two registered firearms, to Type 5 for certified gun collectors who may own more than 15 registered firearms.
For Types 3 to 5, the law specifically requires compliance with inspection and bond requirements.
This means Tulfo’s proposal is not simply about creating the concept of secure firearm storage from scratch.
His push is to make verification of that storage a more explicit and mandatory part of the licensing process for firearm owners generally.
Existing rules already give authorities inspection powers
The revised implementing rules of RA 10591 also provide for inspection and inventory procedures.
Under the rules, the PNP through the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) may conduct inspections for licensing, inventory, monitoring and investigation purposes. The rules specifically identify licensed manufacturers, dealers, gunsmiths, gun clubs and shooting ranges for inventory and records inspections.
The distinction is important.
A requirement to maintain secure storage is already in the law. A mandatory physical inspection of every applicant’s home or storage facility before an LTOPF is issued is the additional step Tulfo is now advocating.
Why the proposal could change the licensing process
If adopted, the proposed system could require applicants to demonstrate that firearms would be kept in a location that meets prescribed security standards before receiving an LTOPF.
That could potentially make the licensing process more demanding, while giving authorities another safeguard against firearms being accessed by children, household members, visitors or other unauthorized individuals.
The policy question, however, would be how such inspections should be carried out while respecting privacy, due process and the practical limits of enforcement.
Those details would have to be addressed through legislation, regulations or implementing rules if the proposal moves forward.
Other measures are also being considered
The debate over firearm access is unfolding alongside calls for stronger security inside schools.
Following the Zamboanga shooting, lawmakers and government officials have discussed measures including tighter campus security and the use of handheld metal detectors. Tulfo separately urged the Department of Education to strengthen school-security measures and called for greater guidance for parents and teachers in identifying and preventing violent behavior among students.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also ordered authorities to investigate the attack and determine measures that could strengthen protection for students, stressing that schools should be among the safest places in the country.
Meanwhile, authorities have been examining the shooter’s online activity and the circumstances surrounding how the firearms were obtained.
The bigger issue: responsibility after the gun leaves the gun safe
The Zamboanga tragedy has shifted the gun-control discussion toward a question that goes beyond who is legally allowed to own a firearm.
It asks whether legal ownership is enough if the weapon can still be accessed by someone who is not legally authorized to possess it.
Tulfo’s proposal seeks to put that responsibility directly into the licensing process: before the government gives someone permission to own a firearm, authorities should first verify that the person has a secure place to keep it.
Whether that becomes a nationwide requirement will depend on how lawmakers and regulators respond to the growing calls for stricter firearm accountability.
For now, the proposal remains a call for stronger rules—not a new requirement already imposed on every Filipino firearm applicant.
Leave a Reply