Unsafe PNP firearms destroyed

The Philippine National Police destroyed and reduced to scrap metals 6,526 units of firearms that had been confiscated, surrendered, deposited, or abandoned, the PNP directorate for logistics and headquarters disposal committee announced yesterday.

Units destroyed were part of the 25,476 firearms that the PNP collected from 8 February last year to 25 January this year, including PNP-owned firearms that had become unserviceable.

Firearms destroyed fell under the "unsaleable" units that may even pose hazards to the public if not destroyed, under PNP memorandum circular 2017-017. The circular also covers explosives and ammunition that are subject to decommissioning or "demilitarization."

"This demilitarization process renders these firearms and their parts unusable by reducing them to scrap metal, thus preventing them from being recycled into functional firearms," PNP chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said.

Azurin said the destruction of the guns is part of PNP gun control measures to stop their falling into the hands of criminal elements and unauthorized individuals.

The process involves cutting individual steel pieces into sections using a circular saw or blowtorch, bending and deforming each piece. Hammers and trigger assemblies, as well as wooden and aluminum parts, are also destroyed using the same power tools.

The cut-up metal pieces are then disposed as recyclable scrap materials and may be forged or fabricated into farming tools and industrial equipment.

The scrap or waste materials from demilitarized firearms are bid out in public and the proceeds used to support PNP programs.