Filipino doctors, priests, journalists and accountants will be allowed to arm themselves while at work under a controversial new gun law that takes effect in their country this month.
Under the Philippines' Republic Act 10591,
people working in these sectors -- along with nurses, engineers, bank
tellers, and lawyers -- are considered "in imminent danger due to their
profession" and will be allowed to carry small guns when outside their
homes.
To qualify for a special
firearms permit, people in these professions have to pass drug and
psychiatric tests, and show they don't have any criminal convictions or
pending cases for crimes with punishments of more than two years in
prison.
This relaxes the
requirements of the previous gun law, the Republic Act 8294, under which
they had to prove they were under "actual threat" of danger to carry a
firearm.
The regulations could be
good news for reporters in the Philippines, who live in one of the
world's deadliest countries for the media, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Some 74 journalists,
mostly covering politics, have been murdered in the Philippines since
1992, the press freedom group says. In more than 70% of cases, the
killers have gone unpunished.
Philippines' authorities say the new law will help them better regulate the use of firearms and curb gun-related crimes, according to local media reports.
The law sets harsher
penalties for individuals found guilty of possessing unlicensed guns,
who now face at least 30 years in jail.
The Republic Act 10591
also requires gun owners to have three separate permits: a license to
own a firearm, registration for the gun, and a third permit to carry the
weapon outside his or her residence.
But not everyone who is
eligible for the special permits will be rushing out to buy guns.
Catholic priests criticized the law after it was signed by President
Benigno Aquino III in May last year, saying that it was contrary to
their belief that society needs peace, not violence.
"Priests are supposed to be men of peace, not of war," the Union of Catholic Asian News reported Bishop Jose Oliveros from Bulacan province as saying.
"Our Lord said: 'he who lives by the sword will die by the sword. We should not counter violence with violence."
SOURCE: www.cnn.com
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