MANILA, Philippines – The license to carry guns of embattled newsreader and commentator Erwin Tulfo expired 3 months ago, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday, June 10.

“According to records, the LTOPF (license to own and possess firearms) of Erwin Tulfo expired on March 3, 2019,” PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde said in a mix of English and Filipino during a news conference in the national police headquarters at Camp Crame.

Gun owners need the LTOPF to keep their firearms. Without it, they would have to surrender them to the PNP. (READ: Want to own a gun? Here’s how easy it is)

The PNP on Friday, June 7, ordered Tulfo to surrender his firearms, following his controversial tirades against former Army chief and now Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista. As of Monday, the PNP said Tulfo has not turned over his firearms to cops.

Why has it taken so long? In a phone interview with Rappler, PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) chief Brigadier General Valeriano de Leon said the burden falls on to gun owners with expired LTOPFs to surrender their firearms.

“Gun owners with LTOPF have been told repeatedly during their application to surrender their firearms as soon as their licenses expire. Most of them already renew before the deadline. But some renew after without surrendering their guns,” De Leon said in a phone interview.

According to De Leon, it’s beyond his office to go after gun owners with expired licenses. That responsibility, he said, belongs to local cops. In Erwin Tulfo’s case, the Quezon City Police District.

De Leon clarified, however, that the QCPD had no way of immediately knowing Tulfo’s expired license because the FEO only provides updates to the database of LTOPF owners held by local cops on a quarterly basis. The last update was in April. (READ: Tulfo brothers lose PNP, Marine security details)

De Leon declined to disclose how many firearms Erwin Tulfo holds. – Rappler.com