Our Principle on Peace, Active Nonviolence and Progressive Disarmament
“The Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is not a Kingdom to be imposed by the force of arms. It is a Kingdom to be built by love. A strategy of nonviolence requires solidarity as well as action. Recourse to armed violence as a method to bring about social transformation cannot be justified. The road to total liberation is not the way of violence, class struggle or hate; it is the way of love, brotherhood and peaceful solidarity. To remove social ills, active nonviolence is our moral countersign to the ideologies of today that espouse armed violence to change the status quo. All sectors of the Church must actively work for an end to the manufacture and production of the technology of death and the arms trade as part of the Church’s vision of peace.” (Acts and Decrees, Second Plenary Council of the Philippines).
Citizen Protection Act of 2010
On 21 September 2010, Ang Kapatiran Party, Pro-Life Philippines Foundation, Inc., and ABA Party-List petitioned the House of Representatives to enact the Citizen Protection Act of 2010 – an Act to Regulate the Bearing of Firearms and Deadly Weapons in Public Places, Provide Penalties for its Violation, Provide General Amnesty and Financial Rewards for Voluntary Surrender and Decommissioning of the Same and Appropriate Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes. The Act makes the carrying a gun or any deadly weapon in public places a criminal offense (mala prohibita).
The Petition is also supported by heads of other people’s organizations and concerned individuals, who among others include: Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas President Edgardo J.T. Tirona, Couples for Christ-FFL President Frank Padilla, Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals President Lorenzo E. Veloso, Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture President Dr. Melba P. Maggay, Kalayaan College President/Movement for a Nonkilling Philippines Convenor Jose V. Abueva, Gunless Society Founder Nandy Pacheco, Radio Veritas President Fr. Anton Pascual, Former Senator Ramon B. Magsaysay, Jr., Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Former Senator Wigberto Tanada, Former PNP Chief Raul Imperial, Olympic Shooter Arturo Macapagal, Carmelites of Cebu Srs. Mary Lawrence and Mary Josephine, and 86 Catholic Bishops of the Philippines including Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.
On 30 January 2011, the above signatories/supporters of the bill wrote an open letter to President Benigno Aquino III to seek support, saying the proposed legislation is a practical measure to help: (1) Bring Down Gun-related Crimes, (2) Assist the PNP and Empower Communities in Peace-Keeping, (3) Keep in Jail Gun-bearing Criminals and Insurgents, (4) End Private Armies, and (5) Put an End to Illegal Firearms. (See also Explanatory Note).
While death by guns is a big problem in the Philippines, passing the Citizen Protection of 2010 stands very little chance due mainly to strong lobby from gun advocates and politicians themselves most of whom are armed and with bodyguards.
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Arming civilian volunteers is the wrong way to go say Gunless Society and Kapatiran Party, Watch video..
15 December 2020, It’s the guns, stupid! by Norman Cabrera. Many killings come our way and what have we gotten out of them? Nothing. What significant safety steps have our public officials taken to address these tragedies and re-assess public safety in this country? Nothing. Read more…
Gun Control articles on Philippine Daily Inquirer, Read more…
Gun Control articles on Philippine Star, Read more…
5 August 2012 – Re-assessing public safety, Sara Soliven de Guzman, As a Matter of Fact, The Philippine Star. Gunless Society founder Nandy Pacheco reminds us that, “The first and primary duty of government under the Constitution is to keep citizens safe from crime and to maintain peace and order. The particular government office assigned for that task is the Philippine National Police”. Then he continues by saying, “No society can prosper in an environment where public safety is in question. No business can survive and no investors will be attracted to come to the country with such conditions. The local will continue to suffer. Indeed, peace and order is a condition precedent to development”. Read more…
13 July 2011 – Conrado de Quiros. Targets, Philippine Daily Inquirer. A gun, like a car, is not just a tool, it is a culture. It is a lifestyle. It is a fetish. Repeated displays of it promote that culture, perpetuate that lifestyle, deepen that fetish. P-Noy himself has not appeared in the media firing a gun, but he has been reported to be indulging in that pastime. Which has given rise to the third “K” in the KKK, “kabarilan,” and which is not entirely unjustified. Frankly, I don’t know which is worse, golf buddies or gun buddies. You have more public officials showing off their own gun prowess—and how can you stop them when their own Chief Executive takes the lead on it—and government will end up beaming a message worse than the Porsche. Read more…
30 June 2011 – P-Noy urged to go ‘gunless.’Rina Jimenez-David. Philippine Daily Inquirer. …President Cory spoke before a gathering of some 300 leaders of civic, religious and other sectors in Malacañang to declare the decade from 1990-2000 a “Decade for Peace”…“Our quest for peace is for all,” President Cory said, “and not just for a privileged few. We must work for just laws, we must design just economic systems, build just relationships. Peace is a gift we implore from God; peace is the task that is ours to do. All must take part, all must share burdens and sacrifices and labor”…“Peace power” was the term President Cory introduced on that occasion, saying that with genuine peace, Filipinos could “transform the face of this nation to become the model of an authentic development for the Third World.” She likewise cited various citizens’ initiatives to give “peace a new chance,” including “the campaign for a gunless society.” Read more…
24 June 2011 – Police recorded 8,352 crimes in Metro in first 3 months of 2011. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Of the total number of crimes, two-thirds were index crimes, including murder, homicide, rape, physical injury, robbery, theft, car theft and cattle rustling. The rest were violations of special laws. Read more…
12 December 2010 – ‘Kung Walang Baril, Di Tayo Mababaril. Philippine Daily Inquirer. In promoting “Kung Walang Baril Di Tayo Mababaril,” we adopt the statement of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP-II, 311): “To remove social ills, active nonviolence is our moral countersign to the ideologies of today that espouse armed violence to change the status quo. It is likewise our moral countersign to the ideologies that institutionalize violence in order to preserve the status quo. We consider the peaceful alternative as a mandate of evangelical discipleship.” Read more…
10 December 2010 – Gun Control. Philippine Daily Inquirer. There are just too many loose firearms in our country-1.2 million as of last year. According to Philippine National Police statistics, from 2004 to 2008, in 97.7 percent of gun-related crimes loose firearms were used, making the Philippines the 10th in gun homicide rates worldwide… We should learn from the experience of our neighbors like Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea which strictly enforce laws on the carrying of firearms in public. We know that President Aquino is a gun enthusiast (he probably became one because he nearly died in the 1987 coup attempt against his mother), but we hope that he will act this time in the best interest of his “boss,’’ the people, and certify the current measure as urgent.
24 July 2010 – PNP claims 70% drop in crime, credits election gun ban. Philippine Daily Inquirer. The incidence of crime in the country fell by nearly 70 percent during the first half of the year as compared to the same period in 2009, the Philippine National Police reported Saturday…From 502,655 reported crimes in the first semester of 2009, this year’s total crime volume sharply dropped to 157,674 cases nationwide, according to PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa.
7 June 2010 – PNP bats for stiffer penalties for gun-related crimes. Philippine Star. Stiffer penalties for crimes related firearms measure on firearms control could help the PNP in the campaign in police operations against partisan armed groups and other criminal groups.
27 May 2010 –PNP seeks extension of election gun ban. Manila Bulletin.“What we want to implement are measures to control if not eradicate the presence of firearms in the streets and unauthorized areas or places because we cannot allow our country to have a proliferation of firearms of which we all know are the main instruments of violence here in the Philippines,” … “Not only violence but also the main instruments being used by threat groups that are around, like the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army), the renegade MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front ) and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group), you name it. And even the syndicates,” said Verzosa.
3 August 2009 – PNP: Loose firearms used in 97% of gun-related crimes.Philippine Star. Majority of heinous crimes are committed through the use of firearms, and these loose firearms are distributed among the New People’s Army, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front renegade groups, and the Abu Sayyaf group.
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