The defense department has inked a P1-billion deal with a local gun manufacturer for the provision of 50,000 pistols to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The contract with Armscor Global Defense Inc. is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to provide handguns to all soldiers and personnel of the Philippine National Police.
According to defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong, the AFP’s special operating units would be prioritized in the distribution of the .45-caliber pistols, the supply contract of which was won by Armscor through a public bidding.
Special forces
Andolong said the units included the Special Operations Command, the light reaction battalions, and the Navy’s special warfare group.
“The guns are for everyone in the AFP,” he said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armscor president and chief executive officer Martin Tuason signed the contract to proceed with the manufacture of the 50,000 pistols last week.
Lorenzana said the contract was part of the department’s efforts toward achieving “defense self-reliance” by tapping local sources of equipment.” —Jeannette I. Andrade