Paper # 1

Picar, Henrik Andreas L.

4-5 PM
Gunless Society
A gunless society, as what the organization Gunless Society impies, is a society where all civilians
doesnt have and will not have any firearm to own legally. It aims to remove guns to curve down the rate of
crimes in the country.
A country that can be considered as a gunless society is China. As stated in Article 3 on the Law of the
Peoples Republic of China on control of Guns:
All units and individuals are prohibited to possess, manufacture (alter and assemble included), trade in,
transport, lease or loan guns in violation of the provisions of laws.
Article 5 of the said law allows all law-enforcing personnel, such as the police and military. Despite banning guns
in the country, China allows its citizens to use guns in marksmanship competitions, hunting, and scientific studies
that may need hunting rifles and/or narcotic injection darts. The use and regulation of guns for the mentioned
reasons are defined in Articles 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 of Chinas gun law. Despite having strict gun laws, China is
reported to have 40 million guns owned by civilians, 680 thousand of which are legally registered (Alpers and
Wilson, 2014). Despite having strict laws on guns, China has a significant number of homicides in the country,
with 13,410 casualties in 2010 (Alpers and Wilson, 2014).
The United States of America is considered the most lax in the world in terms of gun control, since it is
explicitly stated in their constitution that the people has the right to bear arms (United States Senate, 2014).
Although, U.S. laws prohibit illegal aliens, fugitives, convicted criminals, illegal substance users, mentally
unstable persons, dishonorably discharged military personnel, convicted or misdemeanor crime or domestic
violence, or anyone held by law, to own firearms, as defined by section g of 18 U.S. Code 922 (Legal Information
Institute of Cornell University Law School, 1994). According to Alpers, Rosetti, Salinas and Wilson (2014), the
United States is the country with the highest private ownership of firearms in the world. The U.S. has a high
number of gun deaths, with more than 32,000 in 2011, 11 thousand of which is caused by homicide.
In the Philippines, where illegal activities such as robbery, and extortion were booming, considering
the almost 300 thousand crimes in the first half of 2014, more than the whole of 2013s number (Cupin, 2014),
were undoubtedly not totally done using guns. The National Statistics Office reported in 2014 that in 2012, out
of 217, 812 crimes, 129, 161 were index crimes. Theft were the most numerous crime, with 43,606 cases,
followed by Physical Injury, with 34,825 cases. Robbery followed after, with 26,988 cases. It is also reported in
the same report that in 2012, police to civilian ratio is 1:651. Considering the great threats of crime in the

country, and the small number of policemen to protect the civilians, its hard for law-abiding citizens to protect
itself, which makes it hard to stop robbery and extortion. Civilians simply give up the material things without
the right to protect it. Its hard for Filipinos to have a gunless society unlike China, which has a strong police and
military force. Its also hard for Filipinos to have arms freedom like the United States, since crime groups,
especially organized ones, will simply have better weapons than a typical civilian which can usually carry a pistol.
For me, its better for civilians to have firearms, but with strict regulations.
References:
People's Republic of China (1996). Law of the People's Republic of China on Control of Guns. Retrieved from
http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/11/content_1383600.htm on February 4, 2015.
Alpers, Philip and Marcus Wilson (2014). China Gun Facts, Figures and the Law. Sydney School of Public
Health, The University of Sydney. Retrieved from http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/china on
February 4, 2015.
Legal Information Institute of Cornell University Law School (1994). U.S. Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 44, 922
Unlawful Acts. Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922#g on February 4,
2015.
Alpers, Philip, Amlie Rossetti, Daniel Salinas and Marcus Wilson (2014). United States Gun Facts, Figures and
the Law. Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney. Retrieved from
http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states on February 4, 2015.
United

States

Senate

(1992).

Constitution

of

the

United

States.

Retrieved

from

https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#amdt_2_(1791) on February 4,
2015.
Cupin, Bea (2014). PNP reports surge in crime in 2014. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/nation/61798pnp-crime-stats-2014 on February 4, 2015.
National Statistics Office (2014). Philippines in Figures. Quezon City: National Statistics Office.
Safety on Shooting
Shooting is really a very good sport, despite being stereotypically dangerous. As long as safety is followed
in shooting, it is and will be totally safe. Unlike combat and athletic sports that may cause to injury due to fatigue,
and/or physical contact, shooting will not cause any of it, unless the guns pointed at anything that may cause
such.
In shooting, there are many variations of rules that must be learned by heart. The most famous and most
followed of which, was the so-called Four Cardinal Rules of Gun Safety, made by Jeff Cooper. It is as follows:

1. Always treat every gun as loaded

2. Never let the muzzle point at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target, what is around, and beyond it.
(from RFM 2nd Sem 14-15 by Sir Anton Hernandez)
First: Always treat every gun as loaded. Even if its unloaded by a friend. Even if it has no magazine. Even
if it has no bullets. This is the most basic and most important of all rules. If every gun is treated as loaded, it is
by instinct that it will not be fired by the holder. TheExpertish (2012) showed an example of a violation of this
rule, by sharing a news clip of a Navy SEAL who was accidentally killed himself while cleaning his gun. Many of
the shared news clipping below completely ignored this, like the NAIA guard who played with a gun at work.
Second: Never let the muzzle point at anything you are not willing to destroy. Why? Simple. Because
guns are loaded, always. If it fires, even by accident, then it hits a non-target since it is aimed there, even
unconsciously, then its another accident.
Third: Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Probably the most violated one
according to The Firing Line (n.d.). The rule says for itself, but many still violate it, from Hollywood to triggerhappy angry idiots at news clippings below.
Fourth: Be sure of your target, what is around, and beyond it. Now, its time to shoot. But before sending
the bullet, check the target. Will the bullet go through? Will the bullet ricochet? Will the bullet backfire? Check
the place around the target. Will the possible ricochet hit anything around that will cause an accident? Check
the back of the target. If the bullet goes through, will it hit anything behind it that will cause an accident?
Remember also that if open space is what is beyond the target, then do not let the bullet just fly through.
According to TheExpertish, an Amish girl died because a farmer a mile away fired a rifle in an open space.
So if these cardinal rules are followed, then shooting is very safe!
Shootings are usually done at firing ranges, which are designed to avoid accidents outside the firing area
by isolating fired bullets. It has side stops and back stops that catches the bullets that go through the targets,
or the ricochet that formed when the bullet hits the target. In the Philippines case, where firing ranges with
safety standards are a rarity and considered a luxury, using an open ground with a made-up back stop, usually
made of soil dump, concrete wall, mountain sides, or piled bodies of corrupt officials, is considered safe, as long
the bullets will not go through, above or at the sides of the back stop. If, sadly, one cannot afford such, then fire
on the ground. Never fire bullets at the sky. Well never know where it lands, it can land at the shooter.

References:
TheExpertish (2012). The 4 Cardinal Rules of Gun Safety. Retrieved from http://theexpertishguns.blogspot.com
/2012/01/beginning-4-cardinal-rules-of-gun.html on February 4, 2015.
The Firing Line (n.d.). Jeff Coopers Rules of Gun Safety. Retrieved from https://thefiringline.com/Misc
/safetyrules.html on February 4, 2015.
10 Accidental Shootings in AFP / PNP
NAIA cop hurt in accidental shooting
By Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 24, 2012 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - An airport policeman was accidentally shot by his colleague at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) Wednesday night.
According to the results of an initial investigation by Capt. Alden Gay, intelligence chief of the Airport Police
Department, Corporal Christopher de Guzman placed his 9mm service firearm, a CZ-75 Sig Sauer, near the x-ray
monitor while he helped frisk passengers at the initial security checkpoint of the terminal.
Corporal Joseph Miranda allegedly took the gun and played with it. He accidentally pulled the trigger, hitting
Corporal Reynold Mata in the left thigh. The bullet missed Matas groin by a few centimeters. The incident
happened at around 7:26 p.m.
Mata was given first aid at the NAIA clinic before he was brought to the San Juan de Dios Hospital for
confinement.
The Manila International Airport Authority, which runs the NAIA, said it is investigating the incident.
Cop dead after 'accidental' shooting in Olongapo
By Anthony Bayarong (philstar.com) | Updated May 28, 2013 - 2:36pm
OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines - A police officer here died after being accidentally shot by his fellow police just
outside their police headquarters Monday morning.
Reports identified the victim as PO1 Rogene Estrada, 37 while the shooter was identified as PO1 Alexander
Quiming, also a member of the Philippine National Police.

Police Senior Inspector Gil Domingo in a report said the shooting took place at around 8:40 a.m., Monday while
the two were talking near the sentinel post at camp Lt. Manuel Cabal in barangay Baretto, Olongapo City.
Two police officers identified as PO2 David Domingo and PO2 Wilmon Jaudian said that they were talking to
Quiming when the latter pulled out a cal. 38 revolver and played with it.
Estrada, according to the witnesses, was talking to a woman two meters away when he was hit by the bullet
coming from Quiming's pistol.
The victim was rushed to the hospital but died an hour after.
Recovered from the scene was the cal. 38 revolver, while police are still conducting follow up operations to find
Quiming who fled after the shooting.
Cop grounded after "accidental" shooting
By Christine Emily Pantaleon /FPL (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 31, 2012 - 12:00am
CEBU, Philippines - The policeman who claimed to have accidentally shot a man he was arresting for physical
injury was placed under custody of the homicide section pending a formal complaint from the victim.
PO1 Hallid Garlo Omar, resident of Barangay Parian, Cebu City, was also relieved from his field duty at the
Waterfront Police Station effective last Sunday after he figured in what he claimed to be an accidental shooting
Saturday evening.
Omar shot Romeo Cejas in the left leg allegedly during a scuffle when the latter tried to resist arrest. Omar said
he responded to a trouble alarm along Bonifacio Street where he also resides. He said Cejas and a certain Kennel
Rivera were having an argument in the middle of their drinking session.
Omar said he tried to pacify and identified himself as police officer but Cejas allegedly hit Rivera in the nose
prompting him to arrest the former. However, Cejas, who was bigger and taller than Omar, resisted and tried
to grab his service firearm.
They allegedly grappled for the gun until it accidentally went off hitting Cejas in the left leg.

Cejas denied resisting arrest. He told The FREEMAN that the policeman was also having a drinking session
together with his friends in the area when the commotion between him and Rivera happened. Cejas accused
the policeman of haughtily showing his firearm to the people in the place.
Cejas said he requested Omar not to handcuff him as he is willing to come with him voluntarily. However, the
policeman grabbed his hands from behind and shot his leg. Cejas said he has yet to decide whether to press
charges against Omar.
But Omar has already filed complaints for resisting arrest and direct assault against Cejas. Investigation and
Detective Management Branch chief Bonifacio Garciano said they will look into the reports that Omar was drunk
when the incident happened.
Ang mga testigos nag ingon na hubog kuno ang pulis. Nagpaabot pa mi sa complainant if mo file ba jud siya og
kaso (the witnesses said the policeman was drunk. We are still waiting for complainant to press charges),
Garciano said. (FREEMAN)
Policeman hurt in accidental shooting
By Nia G. Sumacot, JPM (The Freeman) | Updated January 27, 2013 - 12:00am
CEBU, Philippines - A policeman landed in the hospital after he was accidentally shot by a fellow policeman
inside their office in Toledo City last Friday afternoon.
PO2 Marciano Suarez, Jr. was wounded in the left forearm after he was hit with the bullet accidentally fired by
Police Officer 1 Careby Clyde Alinsug, who is undergoing the Field Training Program.
The incident happened inside the Provincial Public Safety Company in Barangay Don Andres Soriano at past 4
p.m. last Friday.
PO1 Jamesrie Navarro, a fellow officer undergoing FTP, narrated during the investigation that Alinsug was
cleaning his service firearm, a caliber .45 pistol, when it suddenly went off.
The slug of the firearm hit the concrete floor and ricocheted to the left upper forearm of PO2 Suarez who was
standing inside the office.

Suarez, who is assigned at Pinamungajan Police Station, was detailed in the area for the expanded night watch.
The victim was taken to the Carmen Copper Corporation Hospital and was transferred to the South General
Hospital in Naga City for further medication.
PO1 Alinsug, 23, was arrested and detained while appropriate charges are being prepared against him.
Meanwhile, a man died after he was shot repeatedly by two men riding in tandem on a motorcycle along
Barangay Tuyan, Naga City at past 10 p.m. last Friday.
Police identified the victim as Erwin Barcenas, 46, allegedly a cousin of Carcar City Vice mayor Patrick Barcenas.
Barcenas was riding on a motorcycle driven by his neighbor Jonathan Sagalili, 42, bound from Naga Citys
Barangay Inayagan to Carcar City when a motorcycle without plate numbers and with two men onboard
attempted to overtake them.
As the said motorcycle came closer, the backrider reportedly shot Erwin five to six times. The victim told the
driver that he was shot prompting Sagalili to suddenly stop.
However, Erwin fell on the pavement while Sagalili, who survived unscathed, called for assistance.
The victim was rushed to the Minglanilla District Hospital for possible medication but the attending physician,
Doctor Mark Loel, declared him dead on arrival.
Police recovered five empty shells of a caliber 9mm, a deformed slug, a cellphone, cigarettes, and P350 cash
from the crime scene.
Police remain clueless as to the motive behind the attack, which they are now further investigating. (FREEMAN)
Airman dies in accidental shooting at Aguinaldo
By Alexis Romero, Reinir Padua (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 7, 2012 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - An Air Force soldier died yesterday after allegedly shooting himself in the barracks of
Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

It is initially presumed that it was accidental firing, Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said in a
press briefing.
He said it appears that Airman First Class Jayson Reforsado, 26, accidentally shot himself in the head a few
minutes past midnight.
There is no reason to believe that he was trying to grab a gun from an enemy. Second, they (Reforsados
colleagues) do not see any reason for him to commit suicide because he did not confide any problem to them,
he added.
Police Officer 2 Julius Balbuena said Sergeant Julius Ferrer told them he was awakened by a gunshot in their
barracks.
Balbuena said Ferrer got up and reported the incident to Master Sergeant Fernando Asuncion. When they
turned on the lights, they saw Reforsado lying in his bunk bed with blood oozing from his head, police said.
Reforsado sustained a gunshot wound in the right temple, Balbuena said. The airman was rushed to the Armed
Forces Medical Center but died on the way.
The police and military are conducting separate investigations into the death of Reforsado, who has been in the
service for more than three years.
Cop faces probe for gun accident
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 09:12:00 03/31/2010
Filed Under: Police
A NEOPHYTE policeman is facing investigation after he accidentally fired his service firearm in front of the police
station of Talisay City, southern Cebu.
PO1 Rodel Montesa, a member of the Field Training Police (FTP), was about to turn over his M-16 rifle to another
policeman when the gun went off around 8 a.m.
According to the investigation, Montesa was checking the magazine when it went off.

No one was hit during the incident.

The burst of gunfire caused a commotion in the station.
Supt. Henry Binas, chief of Talisay City police, said PO1 Montesa will be allowed to explain his side in an
invetsigation.
Because of the incident, members of the Talisay police will be made to undergo a seminar on the proper handling
of firearms.
Bias said the investigation of PO1 Montesa should serve as warning to other policemen to properly handle
their service firearms to avoid accidents. CORRESPONDENT JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS
Carcar top cop hurt in gun accident
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 07:36:00 12/27/2009
Filed Under: Firearms, Accidents (general)
CARCAR Citys multi-awarded policeman accidentally shot himself with his service firearm at past midnight on
Dec. 25 in one of the barangays in the city.
SPO1 Meliton Agadier was responding to an armed persons alarm when the accident happened in barangay
Bolinawan, Carcar City.
Agadier went to the Bolinawan after Felix Generale and Dexter Garces complained to the Carcar City police
station that Herbert Camotes allegedly threatened them with a gun.
When Agadier arrived in the area and approached Camotes, Camotes allegedly pointed a gun at the policeman.
But when Agadier also pulled out his gun from his waist, his gun suddenly went off hitting his left hand.
Camotes, who heard the gunshot, got scared and fled.

Agadier was brought to the hospital for treatment.

Agadier neutralized a drunk policeman who ran amuck in June this year. He shot the drunk policeman in the leg
after he tried to attack Agadier, when Agadier tried to pacify the policeman.
Agadier was however known as the policeman who foiled a bank robbery in Carcar City last year.
Cebu province officials awarded him a medal for foiling the bank robbers. In 2006, he was also awarded for
arresting a snatcher and killing the snatcher?s companion. He was off-duty at that time.
/Correspondent Jucelle Marie P. Cuyos
Cop yields, claims he shot wife dead by accident
Jeannette I. Andrade
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:52 PM | Thursday, June 14th, 2012
She tried to grab his gun and it went off by accident.
So claimed the Tuguegarao City-based policeman who allegedly shot his wife dead inside her rented room in
Manila on June 6, as he surrendered before noon Thursday to members of the Manila Police District (MPD).
The MPD said PO1 Nathan Legasi confirmed that he secretly followed his wife Krizzia, a 26-year-old registered
nurse, at her apartment in Sampaloc, but that he accidentally shot her in the face when they began quarrelling.
Legasi, a member of the 1st Manuever Company of the Police Regional Office II 2nd Regional Public Safety
Battalion in Tuguegarao, initially yielded to his superior officer, Senior Supt. Greg Lim, at their headquarters.
Lim then turned him over Thursday to MPD homicide section personnel led by Senior Insp. Joselito de Ocampo,
who went to Tuguegarao City to fetch him.
Legasi claimed he wanted to surrender earlier but was scared and confused, De Ocampo told the Inquirer.

The homicide section chief said that based on Legasis version of the incident, he went to see his wife at her
rented room at the NIC Apartment on Manrique Street in Sampaloc to convince her to return with him to
Tuguegarao.
De Ocampo said Legasi insisted that he had no intention to kill his wife.
He claimed he had brandished his .45-cal. pistol only to scare her into agreeing to come home with him, De
Ocampo explained.
The suspect further claimed that during his argument with Krizzia, a scuffle ensued wherein she tried to grab his
gun.
In that struggle, the gun went off and the victim was accidentally hit in the face, De Ocampo said, quoting
Legasis statement.
The suspect fled the crime scene in fear and only surrendered after he was convinced by his superiors and his
father, De Ocampo added.
MPD investigators earlier said Krizzia was a battered wife who was trying to get away from an abusive, jealous
spouse, and that she had left Tuguegarao for Manila to apply for a job and start a new life in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
Krizzia had been staying for two weeks at the apartment when Legasi, who posed as a new tenant and used the
alias Joshua Pacete of Mabalacat, Pampanga, caught up with her on June 6.
Mayors cop-son tagged in shooting
By Jennifer P. Rendon (The Freeman) | Updated September 23, 2014 - 12:00am
CEBU, Philippines The policeman son of Mayor Neptali Salcedo of Sara town in Iloilo was tagged in an
accidental shooting outside a Catholic church Saturday afternoon, injuring a civilian.
The incident involved Senior Police Officer 1 Ricky Salcedo, assigned to the Police Regional Office-6s Support
Group based in Camp Delgado, according to Senior Inspector Gilbert Archide, Sara Police chief, who declared it
as a case of accidental firing.

Salcedo was reportedly in front of the church when a certain Jonathan Cabileno made his way to approach the
former. The policeman was allegedly threatened when he saw Cabileno putting his hand on the jacket and
appeared to be getting something inside.
Salcedo then cautioned the victim to stop while pulling his hand gun. He claimed though that while he was
pulling his gun, it went off and hit the foot of the victim who was later known to be mentally challenged.
It was Salcedo who brought Cabileno to the hospital before he surrendered to members of the Sara Police
Station.
The mayors son however was not put behind bars after the victims family expressed no interest in pursuing
charges against him.
In a related development, Superintendent Louis Garong, RHSG chief, said his office was still investigating the
incident. It was gathered that Salcedo was recommended to be put on AWOL (absence without official leave)
list after he has not reported for work for about a month already.
Accidental shooting at NPDO
By Pete Laude (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 16, 2003 - 12:00am
A ranking official of the Northern Police District Office was disarmed and placed under the custody of his
immediate superior after he accidentally shot his subordinate inside their quarters Wednesday afternoon in
Caloocan City.
Senior Inspector Ferdinand del Rosario, chief of the District Intelligence and Investigation Division (DIID)
operations section, is now restricted within the NPDO compound under the supervision of DIID chief, Chief
Inspector Rafael Santiago Jr.
"The incident was purely work related," Santiago said.
At about 4 p.m., Del Rosario arrived at their sub-station on Langaray street, Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City, the
former office of the dissolved District Drug Enforcement Group, after a whole-day surveillance operations.

After a few minutes rest, Del Rosario instructed his subordinate, PO1 Jose Santos, to conduct his own sleuthing
operation using his own vehicle. Santos reportedly declined, claiming his vehicle was out of gas.
An exchange of unsavory words followed before Del Rosario reportedly got hold of his gun. This prompted PO1
Roger Giwagiw to immediately intervene and try to pacify the two police officers.
Del Rosarios gun, however, accidentally went off, hitting Giwagiw in the right thigh. Giwagiw was immediately
brought to the Tondo General Hospital for treatment and is now out of danger, Santiago said.
"We are now conducting our official investigation. Whatever will be the outcome of this, I’m sure that
somebody must be sanctioned," he said.DDEG was the scene of another shooting incident last April 2 wherein
Superintendent Reynaldo Orante, its former chief, shot dead his subordinate PO3 Eduardo Gaddi in an alleged
hostage-taking incident.

Cop kills lover in accidental shooting

By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 15, 2012 - 12:00am
Manila, Philippines - A policeman killed his lover by accident in their home in Barangay Old Balara, Quezon City
Friday morning.
Makati policeman Police Officer 3 Arsenio Gardon told investigators he was preparing to go to work when his
service firearm, a 9mm Beretta handgun, went off as he was unloading it.
The bullet went through the ceiling of the ground floor and hit Nenita Fernan, 33, who was sleeping in their
bedroom on the second floor.
Investigator PO3 Loreto Tigno said Fernan suffered a fatal gunshot wound in the abdomen. Gardon had rushed
Fernan to the East Avenue Medical Center, but she was declared dead on arrival.