In the wake of a deadly shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, top leaders in the House of Representatives have filed legislative measures to enforce stricter gun storage mandates and hold firearm owners criminally accountable when minors gain access to weapons.
House Speaker Faustino G. Dy III and Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos jointly authored House Bill No. 11387, titled the “Responsible Firearm Ownership and Safe Storage Act.” The bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, following a string of school shootings involving minors across South Cotabato, Tacloban City and Zamboanga City.
The lawmakers emphasized that physical security at academic institutions is insufficient if lethal weapons remain easily accessible inside homes or adult custody.
“These incidents demonstrate that school-security measures alone cannot prevent firearm-related violence when children and other unauthorized individuals are able to obtain firearms from their homes or from persons entrusted with their custody,” Dy and Marcos noted in a joint statement.
They added that the bill seeks to bridge existing legal gaps by codifying an explicit duty of care for gun owners.
“This bill strengthens responsible firearm ownership by requiring registered owners and accountable custodians, including public officers and employees entrusted with government-issued firearms, to exercise proper care in the storage, custody, and control of firearms and ammunition.”
Under the proposed legislation, weapons not under the immediate physical control of an authorized person must be kept unloaded inside a secure storage device, while ammunition must be locked in a separate container.
Where minors or unauthorized individuals live, work, or regularly visit, owners must take enhanced precautions, including restricting access to keys, combinations, and biometric credentials. The legislation specifies that merely hiding a gun or verbally instructing a child not to touch it does not meet the legal standard for safe storage.
The bill also introduces comprehensive training requirements for gun owners. Applicants seeking new firearm licenses must complete a PNP-administered gun-safety and safe-storage course and pass a written exam. Existing license holders must undergo safe-storage refresher training prior to renewing their permits, while licenses may be suspended or canceled if an owner intentionally or negligently enables an unlicensed individual to gain access to a registered weapon.
HB 11387 imposes severe penalties for those who supply weapons to unauthorized individuals. Public officers or government employees who negligently or knowingly allow the unauthorized use of state-issued firearms face summary dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
It also establishes a distinct criminal offense to penalize careless gun owners directly.
“Most importantly, the bill creates the offense of criminally negligent unauthorized access. A registered owner or accountable custodian may be held criminally liable when the person has a legal duty to secure or control a firearm or ammunition, negligently breaches that duty, and thereby enables an unlicensed or unauthorized individual to obtain actual possession or use thereof,” the lawmakers said.
The bill includes liability protections for gun owners if access occurs as a result of robbery, force, fraud or tampering despite reasonable precautions, as well as exceptions for official duties, supervised sporting events, and emergency disarming.