Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Wednesday backed the idea of urging gun owners to become military reservists, especially those who have long firearms in their possession. 

In a media interview at the sideline of a shooting event in AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Brawner declared the need to strengthen and increase the number of reserve forces  amid the changing security challenges being confronted by the country.

"I am in support of that kasi nga kailangan natin na palakahin yung ating (because we need to expand our) reserve force and we want to make sure that our reserve force is ready to perform any tasking and one of the core competencies of a soldier — is that, he or she should be adept, should be competent in the use of the firearm," Brawner told reporters. 

"If they are knowledgeable in shooting, especially on the safety of handling a weapon, then, they are all welcome to join the reservists," he added. 

He said being a gun owner could be advantageous to someone who seeks to become a military reservist. 

"They have guns already, and they know how to handle the weapons," he stressed. 

Brawner recalled that during the 2017 Marawi Siege, the AFP was able to mobilize reservists who were knowledgeable in firing guns and properly handling weapons, merely because they had permits to carry firearms. 

"It's really, very important that everybody knows how to handle a weapon, that is a basic knowledge a soldier must acquire, including for reservists," he said. 

Meanwhile, Brawner noted that reservists will play crucial roles in the totality of the armed forces. 

"In other words, they will be part of that picture," he said, adding that the AFP is also welcoming other skilled individuals, including engineers, nurses, doctors, and other essential professions.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. previously announced an ongoing redesigning of the reserve force paradigm of the AFP to "fit in the current security situations" confronted by the country. 

Teodoro ordered the "designing of future reserve force" to complement the regular force of AFP and ensure service continuity, in which civilian parallels business service continuity "so that there's a subdivision of functions."