PNP requires gun vault photo for new, renewed firearm licenses

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
October 06, 2026

Photo courtesy: Uncle Zo

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos applying for or renewing a license to own and possess firearms must now provide photographic proof that they have a secure place to store their guns, as the Philippine National Police tightens its firearms safekeeping rules.

The new documentary requirement took effect October 5 and applies to new and renewal applications for a License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF), according to the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO). 

Applicants are required to upload a photograph showing themselves with their gun vault or storage container secured with a lock and key. The FEO has also introduced revised application forms for LTOPF transactions beginning this month. 

The policy does not introduce the concept of secure firearm storage for the first time. Existing firearms regulations already require licensed owners to keep their weapons in a secured vault or container. What changes under the new procedure is the requirement to provide photographic evidence of that storage arrangement during the licensing process. 

FEO chief Brig. Gen. Melecio Buslig Jr. said the measure is part of efforts to strengthen compliance with gun safety requirements. The PNP’s Civil Security Group has also linked the tighter safeguards to the implementation of Republic Act No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. 

The change comes after several school shootings this year in which minors were able to gain access to firearms registered or issued to adults.

Among the cases cited by the PNP was the September 18 shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, where two students were killed and eight others were wounded before the 16-year-old gunman died by suicide. Investigators said the firearm belonged to his father and had been taken after the storage vault was forcibly opened. 

Earlier incidents in Tacloban and Zamboanga also involved firearms belonging or issued to adults that were accessed by minors, intensifying scrutiny of how licensed weapons are stored inside homes. 

The new requirement has also prompted concerns among some gun owners over privacy and how storage compliance could eventually be verified. A 2019 Supreme Court ruling held that police cannot conduct warrantless home inspections simply to check compliance with firearm storage requirements.

The immediate requirement beginning October 5, however, is for applicants themselves to submit the photograph as part of the LTOPF process. The FEO is responsible for evaluating documents submitted online for individual firearm licensing applications.