Paltik

Paltik is a Filipino term for a homemade gun.[1] It is usually manufactured using scrap metal and angle iron.[2] These homemade weapons are usually manufactured in Danao, Cebu,[3] where the production of replicas of known firearms is a cottage industry.[4] The manufacturers claim to be able to replicate any gun, although they prefer to mass-produce six-cylinder .38 caliber revolvers.[5] The Philippine government notes that these firearms are of low quality, even if some are considered as "Class A" or high quality.[6] Danao has the most concentration of factories since the 1940s,[7] but paltik production can also be found in Negros, Leyte, and Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front were also known to produce paltik but were unable to upscale their production due to government pressure.[8]

The paltik suffered from poor accuracy and low quality firing mechanisms. Some lacked grooves in its bore, making its shots inaccurate.[9] Due to poor craftsmanship, the weapon was more dangerous to the shooter than the target. Some Filipino gunsmiths however, did make reliable percussion cap rifles that functioned in a manner similar to a 19th-century musket.

Paltiks are still being made illegally in the Philippines today. These were being registered during the administration of President Corazon Aquino but this "legalization" was revoked and all registered paltiks had to be surrendered to the government.[10] President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 171 in 2003 which prohibits paltiks from being licensed.[11]

The paltik is effectively a ghost gun; an unregistered weapon bearing no serial numbers. High quality replicas of .45 caliber semi-automatic pistols have been recorded being made in the Philippines and ending up in the United States black market.[12]

See also

References
  1. Barreveld, Dirk Jan (2015). Cushing's Coup: The True Story of How Lt. Col. James Cushing and His Filipino Guerrillas Captured Japan's Plan Z. Casemate. p. 261. ISBN 9781612003085. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  2. III, Lynn T. White (2014). Philippine Politics: Possibilities and Problems in a Localist Democracy. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 9781317574224. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  3. Resource Material Series. UNAFEI. March 1997. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  4. Jones, Doctor Adam (2008). Men of the Global South: A Reader. Zed Books Ltd. p. 268. ISBN 9781848131774. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  5. Barreveld, Dirk (2014). CEBU - A Tropical Paradise in the Pacific. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 9781312577190. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  6. Geneva, Small Arms Survey (2013). Small Arms Survey 2013: Everyday Dangers. Cambridge University Press. p. 311. ISBN 9781107435735. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  7. McCoy, Alfred W. (2009). An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 540. ISBN 9780299229849. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  8. Miani, Lino (2011). The Sulu Arms Market: National Responses to a Regional Problem. Institute of Southeast Asian. p. 111. ISBN 9789814311113. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  9. Philippine Law Dictionary. Rex Bookstore, Inc. p. 704. ISBN 9789712349119. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  10. Geneva, Small Arms Survey (2013). Small Arms Survey 2013: Everyday Dangers. Cambridge University Press. p. 314. ISBN 9781107435735. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  11. "Executive Order No. 171, s. 2003 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Government of the Philippines. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  12. "GHOST GUNS". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016.
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