Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has ordered a regular conduct of gun safety an marksmanship training for uniformed personnel as part of what he said as continuous efforts to further enhance the shooting skills particularly of personnel on the ground.
"As members of a law enforcement agency entrusted by the people to carry firearms, we have to make sure that the concept of responsible gun ownership would always be at the heart and mind of every PNP personnel," said Eleazar.
"This includes knowing how to use them and the proficiency in using them," he added.
In several cases in the past, some PNP personnel were either injured or killed due to accidental firing of service firearms.
A few months ago, a teenaged boy with autism died after the service firearm of the policeman arresting him during a raid on illegal cockfighting in Valenzuela City accidentally went off.
In Manila, a delivery rider died after he was accidentally shot by a policeman in Tondo.
Eleazar said that as the PNP is promoting and requiring responsible gun ownership for civilians who want to own firearms, the standard on gun safety and shooting skills must be high for police personnel.
Part of this, according to the Chief PNP, is the continuous coordination with local and international partners to continuously upgrade the skills of PNP uniformed personnel in the conduct of law enforcement operations.
He also assured that they will always find ways to ensure that there will be enough bullets for the marksmanship training of PNP personnel.