Prescribing the Guidelines for the Conversion of Firearms from Class-A Light Weapon to Small Arm and Imposing the Penalties Pursuant to Section 34 of RA No. 10591

October 7, 2016

PNP MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 071-16

PRESCRIBING THE GUIDELINES FOR THE CONVERSION OF FIREARMS FROM CLASS-A LIGHT WEAPON TO SMALL ARM AND IMPOSING THE PENALTIES PURSUANT TO SECTION 34 OF RA NO. 10591

1. REFERENCES:

a. Republic Act (RA) No. 10591, otherwise known as "The Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act"; and

b. Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA No. 10591 issued by the Chief, PNP and approved by the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government.

2. PURPOSE:

This Memorandum Circular (MC) prescribes the guidelines pertaining to the conversion of firearms, as defined hereunder and the imposition of appropriate penalties for any violation of the provisions of this MC.

Primarily, this MC aims to guide licensed gunsmith or authorized manufacturer/dealer supervised by authorized representative of the Firearms and Explosives Office of the Civil Security Group, Philippine National Police, to the exclusion of all others. AHDacC

3. DEFINITION OF TERMS:

As used in this MC, the following words and phrases shall be understood to mean:

a. Authorized Dealer — refers to any person, legal entity, corporation, partnership or business entity duly licensed by the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) to engage in the business of buying and selling ammunition, firearms or part thereof, at wholesale or retail basis.

b. Authorized Manufacturer — refers to any person, legal entity, corporation, or partnership duly licensed by the FEO to engage in the business of manufacturing firearms and ammunition, or parts thereof for purposes of sale and distribution.

c. Conversion — refers to an act of assembling and combining parts of firearms designed and intended for use in converting a firearm action/mode and/or from class A light weapons to small arms.

d. Conversion Kit — refers to firearm parts used to enhance the operational capability of a firearm from semi-automatic burst to fully automatic mode and/or burst and vice-versa; and is defined under PNP Circular No. 99-009 as the upper assembly for pistol which is used to change a firearm from one caliber to another (to include the barrel, slide, firing pin spring, extractor, and firing pin block).

e. FEO — refers to the Firearms and Explosives Office of the Philippine National Police.

f. 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 MC, the barrel, frame, or receiver is considered a firearm.

g. Licensed Citizen — refers to any Filipino who complies with the qualifications set forth in RA No. 10591 and duly issued with a license to own and possess firearm or to carry firearms outside the residence.

h. Light Weapons/Class-A Light Weapons — refer to self-loading pistols, rifles, carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, and light machine guns not exceeding caliber 7.62mm which have fully automatic mode.

i. Small Arms — refer to firearms intended to be 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 burst of discharge, such as:

Handgun a firearm intended to be fired from the hand, which includes:

a) Pistol — a hand-operated firearm having a chamber integral with or permanently aligned with the bore which may be self-loading; and

b) Revolver — a hand-operated firearm with a revolving cylinder containing chambers for individual cartridges. IDSEAH

4. GUIDELINES:

The only type of conversion that shall be allowed under this MC is the conversion of a Class-A light weapon to a small arm as defined under the law, rules and regulations, and this MC. This shall refer to downgrading.

Conversion of small arms in any way that shall make it capable of fully automatic burst of discharge shall not be allowed.

a. CONVERSION OF FIREARMS: DOWNGRADING

1) Conversion of a registered Class-A light weapon to small arm may be allowed upon approval of the Chief, PNP through the FEO. Conversion shall be done by any licensed gunsmith or authorized manufacturer supervised by an authorized representative of the FEO;

2) All firearm parts (which contributed to the full automatic characteristic/mode of the firearm) that were removed shall be turned over to the FEO for final disposition and shall not in any way be subject of trade-in, barter or exchange between the licensed firearm owner and the gunsmith or authorized manufacturer;

3) Failure on the part of licensed gunsmith or authorized manufacturer to report to FEO the total number of firearms converted and to surrender the firearm parts taken off from these converted firearms shall be a ground for the conduct of investigation and the imposition of administrative penalties against the erring gunsmith or manufacturer;

4) The following steps are recommended for the conversion of fully automatic Class-A light weapon to small arm:

a) Selector must be replaced with a semi-automatic selector lever;

b) Remove auto sear assembly;

c) Cut back or shave off bolt assembly to make it semi-automatic. A licensed citizen is prohibited to replace the bolt assembly in order to preserve the identity of the firearms and its ballistics records at PNP Crime Laboratory;

d) Change the hammer to semi-automatic or replace the old one;

e) Replace the disconnector;

f) Replace the trigger; and

g) Replace the automatic sear assembly hole with sear pin cap to prevent its use.

5) The following steps shall be undertaken by the licensed gunsmith or authorized manufacturer before the FEO shall allow the transfer of ownership of fully automatic firearms to another licensed citizen: aCIHcD

a) Remove the sear trip level assembly;

b) Replace with sear insert; and

c) Install safety selector blocking pin.

6) Upon completion of the works made in the firearm, the licensed gunsmith or the authorized manufacturer shall, in writing, certify that the converted firearm is no longer capable of automatic burst of discharge and that it can no longer be reverted back to its previous state.

7) The converted firearm, together with the certification issued by licensed gunsmith of the authorized manufacturer, shall then be submitted to the FEO Firearm Classification Board (FCB) for the conduct of test fire and further evaluation. Should the firearm pass the test it shall then be allowed registration.

b. TRANSPORT OF FIREARMS TO BE CONVERTED

1) Should a licensed citizen wish to have a Light Weapon-Class A duly registered in his name and possession be converted into a small arm, he/she should file before the FEO or its duly authorized regional offices and satellite offices, an application for Permit to Transport said firearm from the residence of the registered firearm to the address/shop of an identified licensed gunsmith or duly authorized manufacturer.

2) Thereafter, and upon completion of the works on the firearm, the licensed citizen shall again file an application for Permit to Transport the firearm from the address/shop of the identified licensed gunsmith or duly authorized manufacturer to FEO or its duly authorized regional offices and satellite offices for the registration of the converted firearm.

3) Duly authorized manufacturers may, upon approval of the FEO make the conversion of Light Weapon Class A still in their stockpile at their manufacturing sites; Provided, the conversion shall be under the supervision of authorized representatives from the FEO.

c. REGISTRATION OF NEWLY CONVERTED FIREARMS

1) Previously owned firearms with full automatic features (light weapons class A) are allowed to be kept by the owners. However, in order to transfer the possession and ownership of said firearms, the same must be downgraded. In order to distinguish these downgraded firearms from the originally manufactured small arms, the following changes in the firearms licenses and/or registration must be made:

a) For previously owned firearms, the prefix "O" shall be affixed in their firearms license number; and

b) For downgraded firearm intended for transfer, the prefix "D" shall be affixed to the firearms license number. cHaCAS

2) In any case, newly acquired semi-automatic firearms may be allowed to be sold locally; Provided, upon physical inspection thereof, the authorized personnel or officer from the FEO has verified that it has only two functions: semi-automatic and safe.

5. PENALTIES:

The failure to comply with the procedure indicated in this MC shall constitute tampering, obliterating or alteration of firearms identification which constitutes criminal liability.

The penalty of prision correccional to prision mayor in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any person who shall tamper, obliterate or alter without authority the barrel, slide, frame, receiver, cylinder or bolt assembly including the name of the maker, model, or serial number of any firearm; or who shall replace without authority the barrel, slide, frame, receiver, cylinder, or bolt assembly, including its individual or peculiar identifying characteristics essential in forensic examination of a firearm or light weapon as provided for in Section 34 RA No. 10591. (Tampering, Obliteration or Alteration of Firearms Identification).

In addition to the aforementioned criminal liability, any PNP personnel who tampers, obliterates or alters the firearm identification shall be administratively liable for Grave Misconduct pursuant to NAPOLCOM MC 2016-002.

6. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE:

If any part or provision of this MC is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions shall not be affected.

7. REPEALING CLAUSE:

Any PNP circular, guidelines, standard operating procedures, and other issuances which are inconsistent herewith are deemed amended and/or repealed accordingly.

8. EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE:

This MC shall take effect after 15 days from filing a copy thereof at the UP Law Center in consonance with Section 3, Chapter 2, Book VII of Executive Order 292 otherwise known as the "Revised Administrative Code of 1987", as amended.

(SGD.) RONALD M. DELA ROSAPolice Director General