THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it would ask the Supreme Court to authorize the Philippine National Police (PNP) to conduct home inspections to determine if licensed firearm owners are storing their guns properly.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Saturday that the DILG would coordinate with the Department of Justice in filing the petition.
“The Supreme Court ruled that we cannot conduct inspections inside homes. I will file a petition with the Supreme Court to make it legal for the PNP to inspect the homes of legal firearm users to make sure that they are kept properly,” Remulla said during a media briefing.
Remulla said the proposal was prompted by recent shooting incidents in which legally owned firearms were accessed by unauthorized persons, including the case of Banga National High School in South Cotabato.
The firearm used by the student in the Banga shooting was legally owned by his father, a Department of Education official, but Remulla said it had not been adequately secured, allowing the student to gain access to it.
He said the PNP currently lacks the legal authority to enter private residences to verify whether licensed firearm owners are complying with safekeeping requirements.
“Especially with the PNP, we should have the power to inspect, without a warrant, all gun owners and how they handle and store their guns,” Remulla said.
The proposal could raise issues involving privacy and the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches, which Remulla said was the reason for seeking judicial clarification.
He argued that firearm ownership in the Philippines is a privilege granted by law rather than a constitutionally protected right.
“Remember, owning a firearm in the Philippines is not enshrined in the Constitution. It is not a right but a privilege. And that privilege has to come with responsibility, and that responsibility has to come with accountability, especially with the PNP,” Remulla said.
Existing policies require licensed firearm owners to comply with safety and safekeeping measures, including the use of appropriate safety containers. But Remulla said the government needed to determine whether existing rules were sufficient to ensure that firearms are actually being secured as required.
The proposed home inspections are not entirely new.
Remulla raised a similar proposal during a House budget hearing in August, calling for changes to the implementing rules of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, to allow police to inspect the safekeeping of lawfully issued firearms.
Under existing implementing rules, the PNP has inspection powers over firearm-related businesses and facilities, including licensed manufacturers, dealers, gunsmiths, gun clubs and shooting ranges. These inspections cover licensing, inventory, monitoring and investigation.
Remulla’s proposal would extend such oversight to the storage of licensed firearms inside private residences.
He said the objective was to prevent legally owned firearms from falling into the hands of children or other unauthorized persons, particularly amid recent school shooting incidents.
Besides inspections, Remulla said he would propose changes to the law to strengthen the accountability of firearm owners when their weapons are accessed or used by unauthorized persons.
He said existing laws do not sufficiently impose criminal liability for negligent gun safekeeping.
