Okubo orders strict gun ownership processes

In the midst of growing numbers of road rage shooting incidents, Philippine National Police (PNP) Director of Civil Security Group (DCSG), P/Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan O. Okubo, on Thursday said he "ordered concerned regulatory offices" to strictly observe processes in owning a gun.

Okubo in an exclusive interview, he told DAILY TRIBUNE that he has ordered strict implementation of procedures for obtaining License To Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) and the crackdown of “fixing” activities and illegal transactions.

He said this caused the relief of a handful of personnel who were initially proven to have illegal transactions using the online system.

Okubo added that while security breach was detected a couple of weeks ago (17 May) at the Firearms and Explosive Office, they were able to retrieve the data and are now just waiting to be back "online, hopefully this week," to process licenses and gun ownership documentations.

Upon assuming as DCSG on 6 May, Okubo said he ordered the streamlining of processes of regulatory offices under his command like the License to Exercise Security Profession (LESP) and License to Operate for security guards and agencies under the Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA).

The security breach, according to Okubo, made all information systems of FEO and SOSIA temporarily halted "to give way to the conduct of cyber security measures in order to fortify security protocols on the said systems."

"The deactivation of the systems resulted in the full stop of transactions, but once the system is reactivated, the applications will go beyond the capacity of concerned offices to process within reasonable time such as the Health service for the processing of Neuropsychiatric Examination and Forensic Group for the processing of Drug Test. While the SOSIA also anticipates the same issue since LESP and License to Operate applications have been piling up and stakeholders have been complaining," Okubo explained.

Now that the security breach has already been addressed, Okubo conducted an inspection at CSG One Stop Shop, "with just a handful of clients clinging to the bleak chance of having their applications be processed."

Acknowledging the dilemma of their clients, Okubo also held a dialogue with its personnel and discussed the possible remedies in the processing of applications while the online system was under maintenance.

"In order not to let clients be at the receiving end of the system downtime and in anticipation of the influx of applications, I have directed concerned offices to accept and process applications manually specially for Drug Test and Neuropsychiatric Examinations," Okubo pointed out.

He also met with the FEO, SOSIA, and CSG staff to work on how to provide services with the clients even if means going back to the manual processing rather than waiting for the system restoration that remains uncertain.

“We can just think of delayed processing of licenses, but it is life for many clients. A delayed LESP for a security guard means no food to bring on the table for their family. A simple firearms verification concern would work on the disadvantage of someone who is held in prison or an accused walks free out of prison. Let us not allow systems to dictate the course of our work. We’ve been here, in the manual era. We should be ready anytime and at any circumstances,” Okubo told the CSG staff and office personnel under his command.

CSG, he added, is studying various options to be "implemented sooner than later."

"After all, CSG's mantra remains 'Customer Service Guaranteed,' even during challenging times, and set to free the online system from loopholes that can be taken advantage of by others," Okubo said.