For the airsoft community in the Philippines, they can collectively sigh and say, "Here we go again." As laws and regulations covering airsoft guns come and go in the past 7 years. Airsoft players won significant concessions with Republic Act 10591 in 2013 which declassified airsoft guns as firearms but subject to confiscation and arrest if used in criminal activities. But this means that registration of airsoft guns is not needed.

The Philippine airsoft community is one of the oldest in the world and it has such a unique history that even if it was underground for most of its existence, it is still one of the biggest and liveliest in the world. With new changes, airsoft can be considered as a mainstream hobby, readily available for any citizen to take up.

Recently, a bill was filed at the recently opened 16th Congress to regulate airsoft guns in the country. House Bill 3805, or the  proposed "Airsoft Imitation Firearm Law" was filed by Representative Rufus Rodriguez and co-sponsored by his brother, Party List Representative Maximo Rodriguez, aims to have airsoft guns to be registered again.

The bill's proposal is not exactly new as previous to the enactment of RA 10591 which recently removed airsoft guns from the list of firearms. In 2008, there was the PNP Order No. 12 Series 2008 which allowed airsoft players to legally own airsoft guns by allowing owners to register their airsoft guns with the Philippine National Police. HB 3805 is actually based on PNP Order No. 12 series 2008, strengthening it further. The highlights of the HB 3805 are the following:

1. Airsoft guns should only be used for sporting and wargame simulations only.
2. Airsoft rifles or pistols shall not exceed 550 feet per second velocity using .20-gram BBs.
3. All natural and juridical persons who intend to manufacture, import or sell airsoft rifles or pistols shall apply for permit from the Department of Trade and Industry and shall be registered with the PNP.
4. Airsoft rifles and pistols must be painted with bright red or orange color at the tip of the muzzle not less than 6.35 centimeters in length.
5. A one-time registration with the PNP for those airsoft rifles/ pistols with no serial numbers, a barcode sticker bearing a permanently assigned unique serial number shall be affixed on a conspicuous part of the airsoft rifle/ pistol. Said barcode sticker shall remain valid for the lifetime of the gun.
6. Any person registering an airsoft rifle or pistol must not be below 18 years old and must be a bonafide member of a duly accredited airsoft club. Airsoft teams or clubs shall seek accreditation with the PNP.
7. Each airsoft club shall have a minimum of 10 registered owners of airsoft rifle or pistol, who shall be local residents, and shall abide by the Code of Conduct, Safety and Rules of Engagement for Games which shall be formulated by a National Airsoft Association for airsoft players and shall be applicable and binding upon all, during games.
8. The operator or duly authorized person in charge of the proposed airsoft game site shall inform in writing the Chief of Police who has jurisdiction over the said area for the conduct of any game, simulation, shooting competition or exhibition of airsoft rifles or pistols. When located in populated areas the game site must be enclosed and secure from public view. No person below 18 years old shall be allowed inside the game site.
9. Any person or entity found to have violated provisions of the proposed Act shall be liable to a fine of not less than Php100,000 or an imprisonment of not less than six months, or both at the discretion of the court.

The proposed bill was filed in reaction to recent events that certain persons have been using airsoft guns to commit crimes and in a viral video, a road side altercation showed one person pulling out a pistol to intimidate the driver of the taxi involved in the incident. Later on, according to news reports, the owner of the pistol admitted it to be an airsoft pistol. Video below reports on the recent event and the proposed law (please turn on your language caption to get a rough translation):

Via Facebook, with the help of Fox Actual who with other RedWing members were interviewed in that news report, we asked for comments from some airsoft players on the proposed law:

The issue was brought up again because a man claimed the gun he used in threatening the taxi driver was a "toy gun". Regardless, he should be tried as if it were a real gun. The funny thing is, they implicate the tool the man used and not the man himself. Just like the SM robberies, they are looking into the hammers/wrenches rather than catching the criminals. What stops a criminal from putting an orange tip on his real firearm?

Some parts of the bill are alright. Actually, we self enforce them. Such as not showing your airsoft gun in public. Always putting them in proper carrying cases. The 550 fps at .20g is already a law in effect. Again, we self regulate by lowering our gamesite FPS limits to 400-450 fps which is still somewhat high based from FPS limits in other countries (US/UK).

It's fine if they want to regulate the guns. But don't just pull laws from their asses. Talk to the community. Get feedback. Ask what we think about a certain law they want to pass. We are more than willing to work together to make this hobby safer and more enjoyable.

Fox Actual

Didn't they have us register them before? Then they scrapped it. Now they want it back?

If they make the regulations reasonable (i.e. You do not have to go all the way to Crame to get things done, FPS limit should be at most 700 because we're just shooting plastic pellets, etc.) then I'll agree to it. I don't think it's a good idea because it's hard to have all those restrictions blocking your way for playing a sport.

Baseball bats, golf clubs, and arnis sticks have been used countless times but we don't ban them. I mean, there are paddles for fraternities, and motorized vehicles that also are a lot more lethal than airsoft, so why attack the tool for the sport? If ever, I think people should have a licence, just like a driver's licence before owning one, and I would understand serial numbers on the firearms registered to the license, but anything more than that, I believe is overboard.

I'm thinking they should register things like they would register cars. Plate Numbers to Owner License, and that's about it. Treat it as if it were real. If you don't own the airsoft gun, and you're using it, the owner should also be the one liable for it. Same thing with a car. The owner is the one with the problem, so both the driver and the owner are at fault. That lowers the risk of people lending airsoft guns to other people for crimes.

Gear should be restricted in comparison to our country's military, that I can agree with. The rest of it, however, should be allowed as well. (This is just in case they try to pin something on the uniforms we use as well.)

Anything else is just overboard for a sport.

Matt Ld Villapol

I personally have nothing against regulating the Sport/Hobby. It might even be beneficial to the community to have clear cut guidance and moderation with regard to ownership and use of these "imitation firearms". We ourselves self-regulate our own circles of influence in the airsoft community because we see this as beneficial to us. It will help promote more responsibility and accountability amongst the owners of these "toy guns".

However, I do not agree with the slant that this piece has taken that these "toy guns" themselves are the problem. It is the intention with which they are used and carried that poses the real threat. And that is something that i believe cannot be subdued or restrained by mere words on paper. People with intent to harm can and will always find ways around these laws even if they are enacted.

Will implementing these laws really target, regulate and discourage those who intend to use these "toy guns" for harm? Or will it merely be an added burden to those who responsibly own and operate these "toys" in their compliance to the law, while those we are trying to safeguard against remain totally unaffected?

This can be a good thing, if done correctly. This is not something that should be done haphazardly as a stop-gap for a need as it arises. There are knowledgeable people in the community who can give better insight into the finer points of this matter. The government should not sound like it is cracking down on the airsoft community, but instead seek their cooperation to be able to implement this proposition more effectively.

Cindel Tiausas

The whole thing's just crazy. Why are the innocent being harassed for one guy's fault? I follow the rules. My friends too. Even if the government didn't tell us there's a limit on our airsoft guns we would still put a limit. Coz i know airsoft is supposed to be a safe action game. Where friends can basically play "tag" and not get hurt. Coz at the end of the day. It's just a game that I like to play, and get some exercise and meet new friends. Now that we are affected, (nothing we can do about that) how do we move forward from this? It's just a toy after all.

Jay Trinidad

For me, I guess registration and regulating airsoft is a way to crack down on consumers who want to take advantage of the proliferation of airsoft units that look like real guns.

I have nothing against airsoft regulations, these were meant to segregate the "good" from the "bad". and although some rules may seem a bit overboard of you know what I mean. The only thing being questioned here is the integrity and consistency of those who will implement these rules. We need ongoing implementation, not a "One Hit Wonder" kind of project where implementation will be strict NOW to a few days, then taper off to becoming lax over time.

Concerned senators and congressmen should also talk to the airsoft community to get an idea of what is actually happening.

If this is to become a reality, I would like to contribute because I love playing airsoft, but I hope reliable and reasonable implementation would be in place by that time.

RenLi Crisantus

It’s good to have registration and regulation on airsoft. They have done that before, then they scrapped it. Now they want to do it again. May I say before making another law, let the Senators and the congressmen study the situation very carefully. Seek the airsofter’s perspective. Knowing the pros and cons on these matters are very essential to create effective rules and regulations. And please be consistent upon the implementation and see to it that the price of registration are very reasonable.

Audie Aquino

The initial comments have no problems with registration of airsoft guns if that's what it takes to help minimise crimes involving airsoft guns. But for them the law should be simple and it should only cover registration, limits, and transport of airsoft guns. Some of the provisions, are overboard and useless such as requirements to be a member of a club which goes against the basic tenets of freedom association as enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the Philippine Constitution as one person can decide to join or not to join a club as it is his/her right to do so.

So far, there's no counterpart Senate Bill for HB 3805 that even this gets approved in the House of Representatives, as long as there's no Senate version of this bill moving forward, it will be far from being turned into a law. With the Philippine Congress under strict scrutiny by its citizens to work on relevant laws needed for improving the lives of citizens rather than fight over pork barrel (Congressman Rodriguez is implicated in the Php 10 Billion Pork Barrel Scandal rocking Philippine, which he declares he's innocent),  this bill may not be a priority one.

Still, for the Philippine airsoft players, they will have to monitor the progress of HB 3805 as it goes through committee hearings and floor readings. Along the way there might be amendments to the Bill provisions that may just make it either worse or better for them. Nothing wrong with being highly vigilant these days.