MANILA, Philippines — With some groups worrying about possible limitations to gun ownership, former police general and incumbent Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop asks what makes it necessary for people to own 20 or even 50 types of firearms.

During the Monday’s hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on public order and safety, different bills proposing amendments to Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act were discussed—including proposals to limit gun ownership.

Under House Bill (HB) No. 9718 authored by Cibac party-list Rep. Eduardo Villanueva, the most number of guns that a qualified person could own is 20—while anything in excess, should the bill be enacted into law, will be surrendered to authorities.

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Gina Marie Angangco, president of the Firearms and Ammunition Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, claimed that this provision may be unrightfully skewed against legal gun owners who comply with the law.

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“The PNP (Philippine National Police) or the government has allowed Type 5 license holders, meaning they can own more than 15 firearms, and there are some who already have more than that. Based on this (bill number) 9718, Type 5 is being reduced to 20 firearms and the balance of the firearms in excess of 20 are supposed to be surrendered without compensation,” Angangco said.

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“It was allowed and so these people are not the ones who have committed the crimes. I know the intent of this is to prevent election-related violence and other crimes, but based on statistics we have heard […] is legal firearms only account for 0.005 percent of the crimes involving firearms,” she added.

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But Acop later on said he does not understand the logic of allowing a person to own more than 20 guns for self-defense, save for those participating in shooting competitions or those who are mere gun collectors.

“Why should one have 20 firearms if the purpose is for self-protection or self-defense? […] Why would an individual, single individual need 20 firearms? If he’s not a, shall we say, what do we call that, a collector of firearms?” Acop asked.

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“Before, when I was still in active service, we only allowed one long and one short firearm […] the laws have changed. Now, give me the logic why an individual person would be allowed to possess 15, 20 firearms. Why? And why would a person need 50 rounds of ammunition, more than 50 rounds of ammunition, except for those firearms, shall we say, involved in sports?” he added.

PNP Firearms and Explosives Office head Brig. Gen. Erickson Dilag said that there are instances where shooters compete in different categories—and therefore needing more than one set of firearms.

“Mr. Chair, we have gun owners or shooters who likes to compete in every category. There’s a pistol, there’s a revolver, then you have rifles, you have shotguns. There are also instances, sir, we have observed that some just want to collect various calibers of firearms,” Dilag explained.

Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers comptroller Alaric Topacio echoed Dilag’s sentiments, while adding that for self-defense, many firearm sub-categories are now available, which means licensed gun owners can add other kinds of firearms to their arsenal.

“So before, if we talk about 15 to 20 years ago, what was famous back then is a 1911 (pistol) and a rifle. But now, with technology, if you notice, if you go to the gun show po […] it’s different for every scenario. For example, I’m a sports shooter. If I get into a category, let’s say, for example, pistol caliber carbine, when I compete, I don’t buy one gun. I buy two. I also buy, for every category that I compete with,” he said.

“With regards to self-defense, before we only had full-sized pistols. Now you have a full-size, you have a sub-compact, you have a compact, you have a micro-pistol. So you have four different sizes already for pistols. And as time goes by, every now and then, a person would buy a new gun because maybe his gun is already big,” he noted.

According to Topacio, he believes there is no issue as long as the gun owner secures his or her License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) from the PNP, and that the guns that he or she own are registered properly.

“So every person who wants, who are qualified to purchase a firearm, every person who has an LTOPF, has the option to buy these guns. And as long as they can pay, as long as they can register their firearms, as long as they comply with all the legal requirements, that 10591 and the PNP set, as long as they are able to renew their firearms every time, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Topacio said.

“Kasi at the end of the day, Mr. Chair, from our perspective, we prefer that it’s okay if you have many guns, as long as you register them, as long as you renew them. As long as we have the data about your guns’ whereabouts, we’re fine with that,” he added.

But Acop said that is where he would debate with Topacio, vowing to stand against the gun advocate’s suggestion even if it makes it out of the committee and to the plenary.

“That’s where we would debate, Mr. Topacio. And I will stand at the plenary to object to that, if these bills will pass the committee level. I wouldn’t agree that you should have more than 20 firearms. I want to go back to where we were before,” the lawmaker noted.

Loose firearms have been a huge problem in the Philippines—and the impact of which is usually felt during an election season. Just recently, the PNP under the directive of its chief, Gen. Rommel Marbil, intensified efforts against loose firearms as the police force monitors at least three private armed groups for the 2025 midterm elections.

Election-related violence in the country stretches back to decades. In 2009, 57 individuals were killed after a convoy of media personalities and female supporters of Maguindanao 2nd District Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu were ambushed while on their way to file the politician’s certificate of candidacy for the province’s gubernatorial seat.

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It was dubbed as the single-largest killing of journalists in the world.

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Members of the Ampatuan clan—Mangudadatu’s rivals—including former Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. were convicted last December 2019 for the incident.gvg777

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