PNP orders gun regulation review after Tacloban school shooting

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered the agency to review its implementation of gun regulations following the fatal school shooting in Tacloban City.

“The instruction is to look deeper into this and find out other possible loopholes in the existing firearms regulations that are possibly being taken advantage of by erring groups and individuals,” Nartatez said in a statement on Thursday.

“We will look into the totality of this to come up with the best measures in the interest of responsible gun ownership and public safety,” he added.

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READ: Tacloban shooting: Gun’s serial number traced to another firearm

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Three students were killed and 20 others were injured when two suspects, aged 14 and 15, fired several shots inside San Jose National High School in Tacloban City last Monday morning.

The 14-year-old suspect allegedly used a 9mm pistol registered to his aunt, a police staff sergeant, while the 15-year-old suspect allegedly used a caliber .38 revolver registered to a Cebu-based security agency.

However, Nartatez previously said that when police investigators asked the Cebu security agency to trace the serial number of the caliber .38 revolver allegedly used in the Tacloban incident, the number was traced to a gun in Bohol.

“A thorough investigation is now being conducted to determine the people behind such modus, starting with the security agency and the people whose names appeared in the registration of the firearms,” Nartatez said.

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“This investigation is necessary to determine whether changes or adjustments are needed in the process of assigning serial numbers to firearms,” he added. /mcm

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