SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – The Police Regional Office 1 (PRO-1) is strongly urging gun owners to deposit firearms with expired registrations to the nearest police stations for safekeeping.

In an interview with the Philippine Information Agency on Thursday, PLTCOL Benigno Sumawang, chief of the PRO-1 Public Information Office, noted that once gun registration expires, police authorities already consider it an illegal or loose firearm.

Possession of illegal firearms is punishable under Republic Act No. 10591.

“If in case, for some reason, you cannot yet renew the registration of your firearms, then turn over it to police authorities for safekeeping,” Sumawang said.

Gun owners may participate during the License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) Caravan which is a one-stop shop where they can process the renewal of their gun licenses.

“There are also LTOPF Caravans being staged on a scheduled basis where they could undergo the process of renewal more conveniently,” he said.

In 2023, PRO-1 logged a total of 975 deposited firearms in the Ilocos Region through the “Oplan Katok”.

Sumawang shared that a total of 41,270 house visitations were staged in the region in the previous year wherein they reminded gun owners to renew their registrations. (JCR/AMB/CGCC/PIA Region 1)