PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday ordered the Philippine National Police to cancel its plan to buy guns from the United States.
“I would like to announce that the 26,000 M-16 that were ordered or were ordered already, [that] I am ordering its cancellation,” Duterte said during the signing of the executive order creating the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.
He said the country could turn to other sources to supply the guns that would be used to fight terrorism.
“We will just have to look for another source that is cheaper and may be as durable and as good as those made from the place we’re ordering them,” Duterte said.
“We will not insist on buying expensive arms. We can always get them somewhere else.”
Duterte made his statement even as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippines would be informing the United States that it will no longer pursue its joint war games and joint sea patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
He said the US would be informed about the matter during the Mutual Defense Board meetings later this month.
“Our recommendation is that the exercises will go on–except that we would lessen the major exercises involving landing exercises,” Lorenzana said.
“The Balikatan exercises, however, will continue. It’s only yearly.”
PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa last week said the aborted purchase of 26,000 assault rifles from the United States would deal a blow to the country’s anti-terrorism drive.
Unconfirmed reports claim that the PNP’s scheduled purchase of the rifles from the US did not push through after Senator Ben Cardin said he opposed providing weapons to the Philippines as a result of the Duterte administration’s bloody was on illegal drugs.
Aides earlier said Cardin, the top Democrat on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was reluctant to provide the weapons given the concerns about the human rights violations in the Philippines.
The US State Department informs Congress when international weapons sales are in the works.