Will you keep a gun when living the Philippines?

then again, you could purchase the dog and make a nice BBQ out of him and then invite your neighbor over to share dinner. Dog can be quite delicious if prepared properly. I've eaten many things dog included. would go down nicely with your beverage of choice...SML or Red Horse. You can accomplish two things at once; silence the barking dog and get to know your neighbors better. Concidently, once you've eaten one of them, the rest seem to stray away from you giving you wide berth when you walk by.

 

A foreigner can not own a gun here. A guy was deported not long ago for this. mind you your girl friend or helper can have one, so be kind to them ha h[

 

That's biased against foreigners but true fili wife or Gf can have (hope it wont get pointed at husband though when have silly fights,lol).I was offered an unlicensed gun whew handmade from experts in talisay or somewhere in Cebu that makes guns,that was only 4K pesos. cheaper than going out.I agree keep it a secret and don't brag around,only in defense life or death emergencies.

 

Police response to airgun registration

I bought an air rifle and took it for registration at Tagbilaran on Bohol. The registration went fine and was in my name. A couple of months later I aquired an air pistol and so went to the Police a second time. They told me that they had checked with Cebu and I was told that as a foreigner I could not own one - so the registration had to be in my wife's name and the previous registration also had to be changed. To my mind this is the administration facing in two directions at once and is apparently at odds with the definition of firearm, as posted on the web. The registration document defines the airgun as a toy that doesn't need a licence and the legal definition of a firearm excludes airguns regarded as toys. When I queried this with the Police I was told that foreigners are not allowed to possess even airguns or air-soft weapons.

Given the above, it was interesting to read the discussion thread posted on this site. Anyway, I intend to follow this up via my attorney to get a proper definition of the situation. I am British ( you know us - quiet and polite, unless it to do with football) and have been messed about so much by what appears to be petty xenophobic racist anti-foreigner sentiment since coming here that I am getting really tired of it. Perhaps it is just the Bohol mentality, as it seems to have a reputation amongst the Filipinos themselves for being backward (as in rural hillbilly type). Bohol gave the country its fourth president and is apparently also the origin of the Filipino First Policy that doesn't allow foreigners to own land, businesses, etc, so you can tell where some of the sentiments are.

 

If you bought an air gun without first needing a permit, obviously you do not need a permit to own a pellet gun. Why did you take it to get registered? Of course if you do that you will be obliged and they will be happy to take your money, then they have a laugh.

Anyone foreigner or otherwise can purchase an air gun or air soft weapon without a permit in Dumaguete, in any Department store, sporting goods or toy dept.

Now is it legal? good question, you won't know that until you shoot someone and hurt them. Actually the laws here are vague, subject to interpretation and often severly distorted when it comes to enforcement. The definition of firearms, not pellet guns, is as follows.

Note the areas in red. Especialy the definition of an unregistereds firearm. even a registered fire arm can be "unregistered" if you commit a crime with it. A crime is only a crime if a case is filed by a complaintant. otrherwise there is no crime. As a foreigner, you are wise to be cautious, as the scales will always tip against you here. It is the case filed against you that will get you. Police depending on how they know you, like you, or don't, may or may not turn the other way if you use your wife's gun to protect yourself.

This law is regarding Philippine citizens,(by proxy you if your wife buys a gun) but it clearly defines what is a fire arm.
If they define firearms differently for foreigners, I don't know it.

Republic Act (RA) 8294
"Sec. 1. Unlawful manufacture, sale, acquisition, disposition or possession of firearms or ammunition or instruments used or intended to be used in the manufacture of firearms or ammunition. — The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period and a fine of not less than Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000) shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully manufacture, deal in, acquire, dispose, or possess any low powered firearm, such as rimfire handgun, .380 or .32 and other firearm of similar firepower, part of firearm, ammunition, or machinery, tool or instrument used or intended to be used in the manufacture of any firearm or ammunition: Provided, That no other crime was committed.
"The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period and a fine of Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000) shall be imposed if the firearm is classified as high powered firearm which includes those with bores bigger in diameter than .38 caliber and 9 millimeter such as caliber .40, .41, .44, .45 and also lesser calibered firearms but considered powerful such as caliber .357 and caliber .22 center-fire magnum and other firearms with firing capability of full automatic and by burst of two or three: Provided, however, That no other crime was committed by the person arrested.
"If homicide or murder is committed with the use of an unlicensed firearm, such use of an unlicensed firearm shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance.

"If the violation of this Sec. is in furtherance of or incident to, or in connection with the crime of rebellion or insurrection, sedition, or attempted coup d'etat, such violation shall be absorbed as an element of the crime of rebellion, or insurrection, sedition, or attempted coup d'etat.

"The same penalty shall be imposed upon the owner, president, manager, director or other responsible officer of any public or private firm, company, corporation or entity, who shall willfully or knowingly allow any of the firearms owned by such firm, company, corporation or entity to be used by any person or persons found guilty of violating the provisions of the preceding paragraphs or willfully or knowingly allow any of them to use unlicensed firearms or firearms without any legal authority to be carried outside of their residence in the course of their employment.

"The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall carry any licensed firearm outside his residence without legal authority therefor."
Sec. 2. Sec. 3 of Presidential Decree No. 1866, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 3. Unlawful manufacture, sale, acquisition, disposition or possession of explosives. — The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion temporal and a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully manufacture, assemble, deal in, acquire, dispose or possess hand grenade(s), rifle grenade(s), and other explosives, including but not limited to 'pillbox,' 'molotov cocktail bombs,' 'fire bombs,' or other incendiary devices capable of producing destructive effect on contiguous objects or causing injury or death to any person.

"When a person commits any of the crimes defined in the Revised Penal Code or special laws with the use of the aforementioned explosives, detonation agents or incendiary devices, which results in the death of any person or persons, the use of such explosives, detonation agents or incendiary devices shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance.

"If the violation of this Sec. is in furtherance of, or incident to, or in connection with the crime of rebellion, insurrection, sedition or attempted coup d'etat, such violation shall be absorbed as an element of the crimes of rebellion, insurrection, sedition or attempted coup d'etat.

"The same penalty shall be imposed upon the owner, president, manager, director or other responsible officer of any public or private firm, company, corporation or entity, who shall willfully or knowingly allow any of the explosives owned by such firm, company, corporation or entity, to be used by any person or persons found guilty of violating the provisions of the preceding paragraphs."
Sec. 3. Sec. 5 of Presidential Decree No. 1866, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 5. Tampering of firearm's serial number. — The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully tamper, change, deface or erase the serial number of any firearm."
Sec. 4. Sec. 6 of Presidential Decree No. 1866, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 6. Repacking or altering the composition of lawfully manufactured explosives. — The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully repack, alter or modify the composition of any lawfully manufactured explosives."
Sec. 5. Coverage of the Term Unlicensed Firearm. — The term unlicensed firearm shall include:
1) firearms with expired license; or
unauthorized use of licensed firearm in the commission of the crime. 2)
Sec. 6. Rules and regulations. — The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government shall jointly issue, within ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act, the necessary rules and regulations pertaining to the administrative aspect of the provisions hereof, furnishing the Committee on Public Order and Security and the Committee on Justice and Human Rights of both Houses of Congress copies of such rules and regulations within thirty (30) days from the promulgation hereof.

Sec. 7. Separability clause. — If, for any reason, any Sec. or provision of this Act is declared to be unconstitutional or invalid, the other Sec.s or provisions thereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Sec. 8. Repealing clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

Sec. 9. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

 

That's fine, but you've missed the point....

The reason I took my air guns for registration is because that is the law and as a guest in someone else's country I will abide by their laws and customs.... You would want that of foreigners in the UK, Germany, the US, or any other country, so why not behave that way when also a guest in someone else's country?

I also bought my air gun at a store without a permit, but there is still a requirement to go and get it registered.

Regarding Philippine firearms law: Some time ago the Philippine National Police bowed to pressure and agreed that SOME (but not all) air guns could be classified as toys. The rules that were introduced then were that if they agreed to remove air guns from being categorised as firearms then the Police wanted to test them to prove that the guns were low power weapons. If they passed the test then the Police would issue a certificate certifying that their gun was a toy and not a firearm. This is the registration process described in my blog above and it is mandatory, not optional. If you don't do it then you risk running foul of the firearms laws, because the exemption from being classified as firearms was given on the condition of this registration.....

The test for what constitutes an exempt air gun is that it shall be fired at a one fourth inch thick piece of standard plywood from a distance of 10 feet and that non of the pellets shall penetrate the plywood. If any pellet penetrates the plywood then technically it is considered a firearm. This information is on the Internet if you do a search, but, like all other goverment details here, it is difficult to get accurate information without a lot of digging.

The Philcolt guns seem to go through 'on the nod' without a problem, as all my Police Officer did was look at it without a test. However, from my own firing at home I think that it is a pretty mean gun that can put holes in metal from over 20 metres.

I know from personal experience that some Americans would fill their houses with machine guns, given half a chance, but others have a different view of life. That is why the disarming of foreigners probably seems like such a good idea to the Filipinos, especially given the regular international news of US school and shopping mall massacres. Also, foreign residents would not be allowed a firearm in the UK or many other European countries without a very good reason. In the UK it is mandatory minimum 5 year jail term for possesion of an illegal weapon. American culture is not global culture. If a guest in someone else's country then respect their rules.

 

I don't know about this gun business, but you have a cool screen name Mark.

 

you know the history of mark, marky......so you are not new here.

 

Kai, you are right, but let im play around a bit, he will sort himself out sooner or later anyway...

 

No I don't know who mark/marky is, and rhoody, what's your problem?
I noticed that you are chasing my tail for some reason--perhaps it is YOU who have some kind of phobia.
Say straight if you have a problem. Otherwise, layoff. It's not pleasant.

And no, I have no freaking idea what the hell you guys are talking about.