PROGUN Opposes the proposed fees of the PNP IRR: An Open Letter to the President and the PNP

PROGUN has learned that the proposed fees in the IRR draft of the PNP for R.A. 10591 are P1600 for registration per gun for every four years. This is in addition to the license fee that must be paid by the gun owner whether Type 1 to 5, ranging from P1000 to P10,000 per gun owner. We strongly oppose such proposed fees as being excessive and exhorbitant. If such fees were to be implemented, then gun licensing costs would be practically the same as under the old law, which is what the new law RA 10591 was intended to address and reform. We also note that the registration fee for airguns and airsoft guns is only P500, hence why should registration of firearms be higher when registration of a gun of whatever nature involves the very same act of entering the information in the database?The law RA 10591 likewise specifically provides that the licensing fees must be reasonable.The splitting of licensing and registration under RA 10591, and the adoption of the Type 1 to 5 individual licensing was intended precisely to make licensing costs LOWER and more affordable for gun owners. However, by increasing the registration fees up to P1600 per gun, coupled with the payment of a separate license fee of Type to 5, the costs have practically returned to the level that it was under the old law PD 1866, as amended. Continue Reading