PNP to acquire 25,120 new assault rifles from Israel

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is set to receive 25,120 new 5.56-m basic assault rifles valued at P726,926,720, which will be sourced from the General Appropriations Act of 2019 and Trust Receipts.

In a statement issued on Saturday, PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the PNP had “98 percent absorptive capacity for procurement of new police equipment.”

This was after PNP’s Bids and Awards Committee entered a partnership with the Ministry of Defense of Isreal through the government-to-government (G2G) mode of acquisition.

The PNP will acquire the rifles from the Israel Weapons Industries (IWI), one of the leading arms manufacturers in the world.

In the same statement, Lt. Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa, PNP officer-in-charge, said each rifle is worth P41,820, which was lower than the unit price offered through public bidding.

“The procurement through G2G was no easy undertaking. We initiated this undertaking,” Gamboa said. “Through various discussions and coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the historical procurement was given birth.”

Gamboa signed the implementing arrangement on Dec. 11, 2019, with Nuni Sella, East Asia regional director of the Israel Ministry of Defense.

Gamboa noted that in 2019, PNP bought 5,767 basic assault rifles for P46,999 each.

“These procurement projects were done through Competitive Public Bidding, and these projects passed the very rigid and strict post-qualification procedures, test and evaluation, and acceptance requirements of the PNP,” the PNP-OIC said.

Gamboa also said the G2G process of procurement allowed the PNP to “procure Basic Assault Rifle of the same superior quality for a price per unit of P41,000 only.”