Philippines Woos Arms Manufacturers

Voice of America ^ | September 9, 2015 | Jason Strother and Malte Kollenburg

[2ndDivisionVet]

BATAAN, PHILIPPINES—The Philippines ongoing territorial tensions with China have led it to try to modernize its military, which for years had one of the smallest budgets in Asia. The country is spending more on more advanced ships and planes, but it is also trying to entice arms manufacturers to set up shop locally.

Each day 200,000 bullets are produced at the Government Arsenal. But it is not enough to supply the Philippine Armed Forces with the ammunition it requires.

The facility’s director, Jonathan Martir, explained a plan to open a defense economic zone, a tax-free place for foreign arms manufacturers to make more and better weapons for the Philippines.

“We’re going to achieve self-reliance simply because we’re going to manufacture here in the Philippines... imagine us manufacturing high level equipment, weaponry, that we’ve never manufactured before,” he said.

Upgrading Manila's aging arsenal is just one part of the plan. Manila is also conducting joint exercises with Japanese and American forces, improving the country's ability to patrol and secure its thousands of remote islands.

Beijing has built military outposts in parts of the South China Sea, known here as the West Philippine Sea. That includes a landing strip on a once-submerged reef.

Both countries say they are trying to avoid confrontation, but Manila-based defense consultant Jose Antonio Custodio said there are no illusions about how the two-armed forces compare.

“Against a country like China and the lack of any capabilities on the Philippine side, the West Philippines Sea installations can be overrun in barely half a day,” he said.

The effort to try to make those forces more formidable is taking shape at Government Arsenal, even though some of the equipment here dates back to the Second World War.

“The sorry state of our defense industry right now, even without the threat from the South China Sea, we still have to improve our capability to manufacture our own ammunition,” Martir stated.

He added that the arsenal still needs presidential approval to allow foreign firms to make weapons here.

[buwaya]

This is a reasonable idea.
The Philippine armed forces are barely armed.

[Hugin]

Starting to miss those US military bases?

[MUDDOG]

I don’t know how good Filipinos are at making guns, but as targets, they were tough to bring down after the Spanish-American war, leading the US Army to develop the M1911 pistol.

[bunkerhill7]

Waste of time and money.
There is no Second Amendment in the Philipines.
Unarmed by law, Zamboangoans are at the mercy of armed muslim terrorists in the south.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Is there really a second amendment in most urban areas in this country?

[W.]

Yeah, the Moros, but weren’t they doped up chewing coca leaves or some such?

[bunkerhill7]

Yes.

“BOSTONIANS BEAR ARMS
``After the Battle of Lexington, British General Thomas Gage occupied Boston, Massachusetts. After negotiating with the town committee, Gage agreed to let the inhabitants of Boston leave town with their families and effects, if they surrendered all arms. While most of the residents of Boston stayed, those who left under the agreement surrendered 1778 firearms, 634 pistols, 273 bayonets, and only 38 blunderbusses``.[14]

14^ Abiel Holmes (1829). The Annals of America, Volume II. Hillard and Brown. p. 242

[Big Red Badger]

.22 caliber would be a money maker !

[Blood of Tyrants]

I think Rock Island gets their M1911s made by a Philippine company, as do several others. So they have the expertise.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Armscor in the Phillipines makes a line of 1911’s that are well regarded.

[MUDDOG]

They did use drugs in battle, but I don’t know which ones.

[WVKayaker]

True, but misrepresenting the whole truth. Filipinos are allowed to be armed. Foreigners are not...

I live here. My sweetie can have a gun. I can use it for defense. But that is not the theme of the article posted. It is about defense of the Philippines. It is also about adding to the Philippine economy.

Sorry, you are not a winner. Try again later.

According to a 2014 date, there are 1,700,000 licensed firearms owners and 3,900,000 privately owned guns (legally and illegally) in the country. ---https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_Philippines

[Yo-Yo]

The Philippines are the number one source of 1911 clones.

[max americana]

“I don’t know how good Filipinos are at making guns,”

You will not believe this, but I was in Cebu city and Pangasinan a year ago (we have offices in Manila and i head there 2x a year), they have gunsmiths who can manufacture and copy semiautomatics within minutes. I saw it myself in Cebu and they made a copy of 50 caliber AND AR-15 which I tested myself. No misfire.

[MUDDOG]

They are good!

[max americana]

see my post 15. It was not difficult for me to “acquire’ a 45 ACP when I was there. Unlike in America where every lib in the area will start crying when they know a gunsmith is within minutes, the locals were very happy to point me in the direction of the closest gunsmith and ammo dealer.

[max americana]

Dude, i ‘got’ a Taurus 800 series for $50 LOL, I kid you not. I know Taurus and it wasn’t a fake. I almost wept that I cannot hassle myself back to customs in the US with it. These dudes can also copy the frame and grips of anything from Sig to Colts.

[dadgum]

How many per household?
What caliber?
What type?

My sweetie lives in Mindanao.

[WVKayaker]

We are in Davao City. Mindanao is a big island. This is one of the safest cirties in the WORLD, due to a strong man Mayor (Duterte). He is credited with taking out the criminals with "death squads"! Visited in the middle of the night b special police, these consist of drug dealers, and other assorted villains. Nobody looks askance, and he has served more terms thatn the law normally allows.

But, he is due to retire next year, and decided not to pursue a presidential campaign.

To answer your questions, do an inter web search for gun laws in the Philippines.

Here is one answer to all of them... Each individual may hold under license a maximum of only one (1) low-powered rifle caliber 22 or shotgun not heavier than 12 gauge and one (1) pistol or revolver, not higher than caliber .38 except caliber .357 and caliber .22 center fire magnum and those which may later be classified by the Chief, Philippine National Police (C, PNP) as high-powered regardless of the type, make or caliber. -http://www.pctc.gov.ph/laws/basicFA.htm