Section 1.
Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the "Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition
Regulation Act".
Section 2. Declaration of State Policy. – It is the policy of the State to maintain peace and order and
protect the people against violence. The State also recognizes the right of its qualified citizens to
self-defense through, when it is the reasonable means to repel the unlawful aggression under the
circumstances, the use of firearms. Towards this end, the State shall provide for a comprehensive
law regulating the ownership, possession, carrying, manufacture, dealing in and importation of
firearms, ammunition, or parts thereof, in order to provide legal support to law enforcement agencies
in their campaign against crime, stop the proliferation of illegal firearms or weapons and the illegal
manufacture of firearms or weapons, ammunition and parts thereof.
Section 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act:
(a) Accessories refer to parts of a firearm which may enhance or increase the operational
efficiency or accuracy of a firearm but will not constitute any of the major or minor internal
parts thereof such as, hut not limited to, laser scope, telescopic sight and sound suppressor
or silencer.
(b) Ammunition refers to a complete unfixed unit consisting of a bullet, gunpowder, cartridge
case and primer or loaded shell for use in any firearm.
(c) Antique firearm refers to any: (1) firearm which was manufactured at least seventy-five
(75) years prior to the current date but not including replicas; (2) firearm which is certified by
the National Museum of the Philippines to be curio or relic of museum interest; and (3) any
other firearm which derives a substantial part of its monetary value from the fact that it is
novel, rare, bizarre or because of its association with some historical figure, period or event.
(d) Arms smuggling refers to the import, export, acquisition, sale, delivery, movement or
transfer of firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, from or across the territory
of one country to that of another country which has not been authorized in accordance with
domestic law in either or both country/countries.
(e) Authority to import refers to a document issued by the Chief of the Philippine National
Police (PNP) authorizing the importation of firearms, or their parts, ammunition and other
components.
(f) Authorized dealer refers to any person, legal entity, corporation, partnership or business
entity duly licensed by the Firearms and Explosive Office (FEO) of the PNP to engage in the
business of buying and selling ammunition, firearms or parte thereof, at wholesale or retail
basis.
(g) Authorized importer refers to any person, legal entity, corporation, partnership or
business duly licensed by the FEO of the PNP to engage in the business of importing
ammunition and firearms, or parts thereof into the territory of the Republic of the Philippines
for purposes of sale or distribution under the provisions of this Act.
(h) Authorized manufacturer refers to any person, legal entity, corporation, or partnership
duly licensed by the FEO of the PNP to engage in the business of manufacturing firearms,
and ammunition or parts thereof for purposes of sale or distribution. 1âwphi1
(i) Confiscated firearm refers to a firearm that is taken into custody by the PNP, National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and all other
law enforcement agencies by reason of their mandate and must be necessarily reported or
turned over to the PEO of the PNP.
(j) Demilitarized firearm refers to a firearm deliberately made incapable of performing its
main purpose of firing a projectile.
(k) Duty detail order refers to a document issued by the juridical entity or employer wherein
the details of the disposition of firearm is spelled-out, thus indicating the name of the
employee, the firearm information, the specific duration and location of posting or
assignment and the authorized bonded firearm custodian for the juridical entity to whom
such firearm is turned over after the lapse of the order.
(l) Firearm refers to any handheld or portable weapon, whether a small arm or light weapon,
that expels or is designed to expel a bullet, shot, slug, missile or any projectile, which is
discharged by means of expansive force of gases from burning gunpowder or other form of
combustion or any similar instrument or implement. For purposes of this Act, the barrel,
frame or receiver is considered a firearm.
(m) Firearms Information Management System (FIMS) refers to the compilation of all data
and information on firearms ownership and disposition for record purposes.
(n) Forfeited firearm refers to a firearm that is subject to forfeiture by reason of court order as
accessory penalty or for the disposition by the FEO of the PNP of firearms considered as
abandoned, surrendered, confiscated or revoked in compliance with existing rules and
regulations.
(o) Gun club refers to an organization duly registered with and accredited in good standing
by the FEO of the PNP which is established for the purpose of propagating responsible and
safe gun ownership, proper appreciation and use of firearms by its members, for the purpose
of sports and shooting competition, self-defense and collection purposes.
(p) Gunsmith refers to any person, legal entity, corporation, partnership or business duly
licensed by the FEO of the PNP to engage in the business of repairing firearms and other
weapons or constructing or assembling firearms and weapons from finished or manufactured
parts thereof on a per order basis and not in commercial quantities or of making minor parts
for the purpose of repairing or assembling said firearms or weapons.
(q) Imitation firearm refers to a replica of a firearm, or other device that is so substantially
similar in coloration and overall appearance to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable
person to believe that such imitation firearm is a real firearm.
(r) Licensed citizen refers to any Filipino who complies with the qualifications set forth in this
Act and duly issued with a license to possess or to carry firearms outside of the residence in
accordance with this Act.
(s) Licensed, juridical entity refers to corporations, organizations, businesses including
security agencies and local government units (LGUs) which are licensed to own and possess
firearms in accordance with this Act.
(t) Light weapons are: Class-A Light weapons which refer to self-loading pistols, rifles and
carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles and light machine guns not exceeding caliber
7.62MM which have fully automatic mode; and Class-B Light weapons which refer to
weapons designed for use by two (2) or more persons serving as a crew, or rifles and
machine guns exceeding caliber 7.62MM such as heavy machine guns, handheld
underbarrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tank
guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti-tank missile and rocket systems, portable
launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of a caliber of less than 100MM.
(u) Long certificate of registration refers to licenses issued to government agencies or offices
or government-owned or -controlled corporations for firearms to be used by their officials and
employees who are qualified to possess firearms as provider in this Act, excluding security
guards.
(v) Loose firearm refers to an unregistered firearm, an obliterated or altered firearm, firearm
which has been lost or stolen, illegally manufactured firearms, registered firearms in the
possession of an individual other than the licensee and those with revoked licenses in
accordance with the rules and regulations.
(w) Major part or components of a firearm refers to the barrel, slide, frame, receiver, cylinder
or the bolt assembly. The term also includes any part or kit designed and intended for use in
converting a semi-automatic burst to a full automatic firearm.
(x) Minor parts of a firearm refers to the parts of the firearm other than the major parts which
are necessary to effect and complete the action of expelling a projectile by way of
combustion, except those classified as accessories.
(y) Permit to carry firearm outside of residence refers to a written authority issued to a
licensed citizen by the Chief of the PNP which entitles such person to carry his/her registered
or lawfully issued firearm outside of the residence for the duration and purpose specified in
the authority.
(z) Permit to transport firearm refers to a written authority issued to a licensed citizen or
entity by the Chief of the PNP or by a PNP Regional Director which entitles such person or
entity to transport a particular firearm from and to a specific location within the duration and
purpose in the authority.
(aa) Residence refers to the place or places of abode of the licensed citizen as indicated in
his/her license.
(bb) Shooting range refers to a facility established for the purpose of firearms training and
skills development, firearm testing, as well as for sports and competition shooting either for
the exclusive use of its members or open to the general public, duly registered with and
accredited in good standing by the FEO of the PNP.
(cc) Short certificate of registration refers to a certificate issued by the FEO of the PNP for a
government official or employee who was issued by his/her employer department, agency or
government-owned or -controlled corporation a firearm covered by the long certificate of
registration.
(dd) Small arms refer to firearms intended to be or primarily designed for individual use or
that which is generally considered to mean a weapon intended to be fired from the hand or
shoulder, which are not capable of fully automatic bursts of discharge, such as:
(1) Handgun which is a firearm intended to be fired from the hand, which includes:
(i) A pistol which is a hand-operated firearm having a chamber integral with
or permanently aligned with the bore which may be self-loading; and
(ii) Revolver which is a hand-operated firearm with a revolving cylinder
containing chambers for individual cartridges.
(2) Rifle which is a shoulder firearm or designed to be fired from the shoulder that
can discharge a bullet through a rifled barrel by different actions of loading, which
may be classified as lever, bolt, or self-loading; and
(3) Shotgun which is a weapon designed, made and intended to fire a number of ball
shots or a single projectile through a smooth bore by the action or energy from
burning gunpowder.
(ee) Sports shooting competition refers to a defensive, precision or practical sport shooting
competition duly authorized by the FEO of the PNP.
(ff) Tampered, obliterated or altered firearm refers to any firearm whose serial number or
other identification or ballistics characteristics have been intentionally tampered with,
obliterated or altered without authority or in order to conceal its source, identity or ownership.
(gg) Thermal weapon sight refers to a battery operated, uncooled thermal imaging device
which amplifies available thermal signatures so that the viewed scene becomes clear to the
operator which is used to locate and engage targets during daylight and from low light to
total darkness and operates in adverse conditions such as light rain, light snow, and dry
smoke or in conjunction with other optical and red dot sights.