Batangas Best Practices: BALIK - Armas Program

Under RA 10591, the registration of the firearm shall be renewed every four years. Failure to renew the registration of the firearm on or before the date of expiration shall cause the revocation of the license of the firearm and could be considered as loose firearm. The said firearm shall be confiscated or forfeited in favor of the government after due process.

With these accomplishments and the commitment of the Provincial Director and his staff to carrying out this objective for a better, safer, and more peaceful Batangas to live, retreat, rest, and do business, the Batangas Police Provincial Office launched the BALIK- (Batanguenong Layuning Ilagak sa Pulis ang kanilang armas para sa Kapayaan) Armas Program, which encourage the community, particularly Batanguenos, to become more responsible gun owners by temporarily safe-keeping their unrenewed firearms while working for its license with the relevant government agencies, or to surrender it if they are uninterested in renewing for its license or in further owning or keeping it. [2]

“We are not going to arrest or charge them. However, if we know that the license has expired and they have not surrendered the firearm, and are involved in other activities, we can conduct a case with the operation and file a search warrant.” said by PMAJ Allan A De Castro, Chief of Police of Bauan Municipal Station.

If we want to reduce gun violence and accidents like these, we need to focus on two things. First, we must enforce laws requiring background and mental health checks because a person's mental stability can influence whether or not they are issued a firearm. Second, we need to enforce the laws that ensure proper training of fire arms before selling them, just like we have rules before getting our driver's license. We should treat gun laws like other laws.

Before driving, you must pass a written and then a practical exam to ensure you have sufficient knowledge of the road, which can significantly reduce the risk of future accidents. But why are there no such laws for firearms, which are far more dangerous than driving? Because if you are in a car accident, you may survive; if you are shot, you have a 5% chance of survival; the majority of shootings result in death

WORK CITED

[2 https://issuu.com/balikasonline/docs/vol._20__no._32_-_august_10_-_16__2