Wake up, Mr. President!

Why is it that some  Filipinos look down on home-made products even if these are far superior over its  “stateside” counterparts?

Is it because of our colonial mentality that makes us continue to worship our former colonial masters and their products?

Is it because of our crab mentality which makes us pull down our compatriots who are going up the success ladder?

Or is it because we don’t believe  fellow Filipinos are capable of producing items that can match and even surpass items made abroad?

So when a Filipino-made product is found better than those manufactured abroad, it is ignored because it’s “just locally made.”

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An example is the PVAR rifle invented by United Defense Manufacturing Corp. (UDMC), a wholly Filipino-owned arms maker, which has improved on the American M-16 rifle, known as “Armalite,” and its latest version, the M-4.

PVAR stands for pneumatic valve and rod, which is piston-operated, as opposed to the gas-operated M-16 and M-4.

The PVAR rifle does not malfunction even if it is submerged in water or is full of sand or dirt, unlike the M-4, thanks to the ingenuity of Gene Cariño, owner of UDMC, who invented the PVAR rifle.

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How ironic that President  Benigno Aquino III, a gun enthusiast, has not heard of  the PVAR rifle. Or he must be blindsided by those close to him.

As the Armed Forces commander in chief, he should have been informed of the results of tests conducted by the Naval Special Operations Group (Navsog), the Philippine Navy’s counterpart of the US Navy Seals.

Navsog recommends UDMC rifles for the military’s elite troops because of its “accuracy and reliability.”

Doesn’t the President know that the Army Marksmanship Training Unit is now using the PVAR for carbine competitions?

Army shooters have won medals using PVAR carbines in international competitions.

Lieutenant General Roland Detabali, commander of the Southern Luzon Command, has been winning competitions from close quarters combat  to a range of 500 meters.

Retired Army Major Philip Manlapaz, former chief of the Army Marksmanship Training Unit and coach of the Army rifle team that won medals in international competitions, are full of  praises for the PVAR rifle.

“We should be proud of  this Filipino invention, Mon,” Manlapaz told me.

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And yet, when the government looks for rifles for military and police personnel, it looks elsewhere, ignoring the UDMC which is right under its nose.

UDMC arms, apart from being better than foreign arms, are much cheaper because they’re made in the country.

The UDMC claims  80 percent of PVAR rifle parts are fabricated in the country, therefore, parts that get broken can easily be replaced and carry a warranty.

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The President’s “Daang Matuwid” (straight and narrow path) kind of governance apparently is not being followed by his subordinates who are in charge of arms procurement.

For what reason could these subordinates give for choosing rifles for our troops that are inferior to the PVAR rifle which  costs much less?

The answer is obvious: Dollar commissions from the purchase of foreign-made rifles.

Wake up, Mr. President!