Cebu City Hall officials would have to wait a little bit longer before they could use their issued firearms again as the Firearms and Explosive Division (FED) in Camp Crame has asked the General Services Office (GSO) to submit a new set of requirements after the documents that they submitted earlier had already expired.
General Services Office (GSO) head Ronaldo Malacora said they were again processing the necessary requirements for the renewal of licenses of city-owned firearms.
Malacora said when FED held a caravan here in the city, he was forced to submit the documents even if these were not yet complete.
“I thought it was already okay. We will just convert (firearms registration) from individual to juridical. But they told me that the policy has been changed because of the reorganization,” he said.
He said he knew about the matter just last month.
Malacora, along with Mayor Tomas Osmeña, will also renew their requirements being the custodian and head of the agency, respectively.
The city government issued a total of 276 firearms to the police, barangay captains, judges and department heads, among others.
He said only 10 firearms were issued to the police. Two of these are not functional.
These firearms cannot be used since no license has been issued yet, Malacora said.
When the licenses of these firearms expired, they were then deposited to the Cebu City Police Office.
Malacora said the police have firearms issued by the national government.
He, however, said that he will see to it that within the month of May, the firearms will already be distributed.
“If there is a license already, it is still subject for clearance from the mayor,” he said.