Philippines cracks down on 1 million illegal guns

The Philippine president ordered a nationwide crackdown Thursday to confiscate an estimated 1 million illegal firearms, saying the weapons have fueled crimes and rebellions and could turn next year's presidential elections violent.

The crackdown will be followed by a monthlong amnesty for civilian owners of unlicensed guns.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's order instructs the military and police to launch a campaign to confiscate illegal firearms.

There are 559,326 firearms with expired licenses and 529,550 guns which have never been registered, Arroyo said in her order, citing police estimates.

"The proliferation of loose firearms has remained as a critical obstacle in the fight against criminality," Arroyo said, adding nearly all guns used in crimes in the last four years were unlicensed.

Arroyo also announced an Oct. 1-31 "final amnesty" this year that would allow civilian owners unregistered firearms to register their weapons without fines or penalties.

Her order did not explain why the amnesty would apparently reward unlicensed gun owners who manage to evade detection until October, but statistics show that licensed firearms are rarely involved in violent crime.

From 2006 to last year, about 14,500 crimes like killings and robberies were committed using more than 16,000 firearms, almost all illegal, according to the police.

In 2007 nationwide elections, at least 25 people were killed, mostly with guns, officials said.

Much of the crackdown on illegal weapons appeared aimed at taking them out of the hands of militant groups in the country's volatile south, where they have fueled a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion. Jolo Island, where al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants are active, has one of the most number of illegal guns, officials said.

More than 15,600 firearms were in the hands of communist and Muslim insurgents while criminals wield about 5,726 guns.

Law enforcement agencies held a firearms summit in Manila in May, during which officials disclosed more than 1 million illegal firearms could be found in the country _ the highest estimate ever.

Jolo, which has been grappling with Abu Sayyaf extremist militants, banditry and violent political and clan confrontations, could have as many as 100,000 illegal firearms, police said.

Jolo Gov. Sakur Tan has launched a crackdown in the predominantly Muslim province, where gunfire usually greets family milestones like a baby's birth, weddings or even rare natural events like an eclipse.

Most illegal guns in Mindanao, scene of a decades-old rebellion by minority Muslims, came from illegal gunsmiths or were smuggled in.