Gun Making Industry, Danao, Philippines

Danao City is well-known for its gun industry. The industry started around 1905-1906. When World War II came, the Danao gunsmiths went underground, joined the guerrilla movement or were inducted into the USAFFE. Their main task was to re-chamber the Japanese Arisaka rifles to fit the US .30 caliber round or to keep the original Japanese rifle in good service. The industry went on, still underground. In the 1960s, the term paltik was given to the homemade (and illegal) guns. In the early 1990s the industry was legalized by the government, with the creation of two organizations of local gunsmiths. The organization now left with proper permit is Workers League of Danao Multi-purpose Cooperative (World MPC), in Dungguan, Danao City.
Now 10,000 of Danao's residents are involved in the industry. Replicas of M-16, AK-47, Uzi and Ingram sub-machine guns are the most popular firearms.