Republic Act No. 482, enacted on June 10, 1950, allows individuals to voluntarily surrender unlicensed firearms and ammunition within one year without facing criminal liability. However, this exemption does not apply to those using or carrying such items during this period. The act mandates the Secretary of National Defense to establish rules for the surrender process and outlines a payment schedule for the surrendered items based on their condition. All surrendered firearms and ammunition must be handed over to the Philippine Constabulary, which will manage their final disposition. This law aims to regulate firearm possession while providing a mechanism for compliance.
June 10, 1950
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 482
AN ACT TO FIX THE PERIOD OF TIME WITHIN WHICH UNLICENSED FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION MUST BE SURRENDERED WITHOUT INCURRING CRIMINAL LIABILITY AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF THOSE SURRENDERED WITHIN THE PERIOD HEREIN SPECIFIED
(INOPERATIVE)
SECTION 1. Any person who holds or possesses any firearm and/or ammunition without permit or license may, without incurring any criminal liability, surrender the same within a period of one year from the date this Act shall take effect: Provided, however, That this section shall not be interpreted to mean as in any way exempting from such liability any person, without the requisite permit or license, found, within the aforementioned period of time, making use of said firearm and ammunition or carrying them on his person except for the purpose of surrendering them as herein required: Provided, further, That this section shall not in any way affect any case pending in court, on the date of the passage of this Act, for violation of existing laws on firearms and ammunition.
For the purpose of this Act, the terms "firearms" and "ammunition" shall include the types of arms and ammunition enumerated in section two of this Act.
SECTION 2. The Secretary of National Defense shall promulgate such rules and regulations that shall be necessary for the surrender and payment of the firearms and ammunition and shall designate the officers who shall receive the same: Provided, however, That payment for surrendered firearms and ammunition shall be made in accordance with the following schedule:
I. — U.S. ARMY STANDARD WEAPONS
|
Serviceable
|
Non-serviceable
|
||
| 1. | Pistols and Revolvers, cal .45 |
P75.00
|
P15.00
|
| 2. | Thompson Sub-Machine Guns cal. .45 |
75.00
|
25.00
|
| 3. | Grease Guns, cal. .45 |
60.00
|
15.00
|
| 4. | Browning Automatic Rifles, cal. .30 |
75.00
|
25.00
|
| 5. | U.S. Carbine, cal. .30 |
75.00
|
20.00
|
| 6. | M-1 Grand Rifle, cal. .30 |
75.00
|
20.00
|
| 7. | Springfield Rifle, cal. .30 |
60.00
|
15.00
|
| 8. | Enfield Rifle, cal. .30 |
50.00
|
15.00
|
| 9. | U.S. Trench Mortar |
50.00
|
15.00
|
| 10. | U.S. Bazooka |
40.00
|
10.00
|
| 11. | U.S. Machine Gun, cal. .30 |
60.00
|
15.00
|
| 12. | U.S. Machine Gun, cal. .50 |
60.00
|
15.00
|
| 13. | U.S. Hand Grenades |
5.00
|
None
|
| 14. | All ammunition for the above |
|
|
| firearms except Bazooka and Mortar |
0.05
|
None
|
|
| 15. | Bazooka and Mortar ammunition |
1.00
|
None
|
II. — MISCELLANEOUS WEAPONS
|
Serviceable
|
Non-serviceable
|
||
| 1. | Pistols and Revolvers, cals. .22, | ||
| .25, .32, .38 and 380 |
P40.00
|
P10.00
|
|
|
|
|
||
| 2. | Shotguns, .12, .15, .20 and 410 ga. |
40.00
|
15.00
|
|
|
|
||
| 3. | Rifles, cals. .22, .30-.36 |
30.00
|
10.00
|
|
|
|
||
| 4. | Rifle-Shotgun combination, cal. 410-.22 |
|
|
|
30.00
|
10.00
|
||
|
|
|
||
| 5. | Ammunition for the above firearms |
.10
|
.05
|
SECTION 3. Surrendered firearms and ammunition shall be turned over and deposited with the Philippine Constabulary and shall be subject to such orders and regulations, approved by the Secretary of National Defense, as the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary may issue as to their final disposition. cd
SECTION 4. The sum necessary to carry out the purpose of this Act shall be taken from the savings that may be realized from the appropriations for the Department of National Defense.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: June 10, 1950
Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 46, No. 7, p. 2988 in July 1950