Fallujah posted this as a comment on the PNP Firearms Circulars thread. However, I think it is important enough to be highlighted in its own article.

Why are the PNP clamping down on the licensed gun owners and not the criminals?

1. Stricter gun control regulations is a PUBLIC RELATIONS maneuver for the PNP. Whenever there is a crime wave that cannot be solved and the criminals cannot be caught, it is much easier for the PNP to declare stricter gun control measures as knee jerk reaction. A gun ban is easy to impose; all it requires is a stroke of the pen. It would deliver instant results for the public which is itching to see that the crimes are solved. Since the Police oftentimes cannot solve these crimes immediately, or at all, a gun ban delivers  instant and tangible results thus misleading the public into a A FALSE SENSE of resolution of the crime, when in fact nothing is resolved.

2. Clamping down in on licensed gun owners is better for business. The police do not earn from fighting crime and catching criminals. Rather, they earn from corrupt practices in regulation of firearms, security agencies/ guards, wherein fees are charged. The more difficult the requirements, the more red tape, the more people will be unwilling to go through the regular process, consequently the fixers enter the picture to “facilitate” the application process. The more requirements, the higher the “lagay” = more income for the higher ups who control the whole business.

3. The stricter gun control measures are a result of FOREIGN PRESSURE. Foreign governments which are know to be anti-gun such as Japan, Australia, and the EU, and the United Nations equate gun control with greater development. Their logic is the more gun control, the more development for the country. Thus FOREIGN AID is released to the Philippine Government only in exchange for MORE STRICT GUN CONTROL MEASURES. Thus, unless the Chief PNP enacts greater gun control rules, the PNP will not be granted its funding for their projects (UN funded) and “model” police stations (Japan Funded), and modernization and development (stated in the PNP Position Paper). More foreign aid also means more income for the generals to skim off the top. Hence, personal gain is also a factor here, by way of Euros.