PNP on halt of US-PH arms deal: Let’s wait for official notice

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has yet to receive an official notice from the supplier of the 26,000 assault rifles from the United States after reports came out that the US State Department has halted the sale of the weapons to the PNP due to government’s alleged human rights violations amid the drug war.

“Let us wait for the official notice from the supplier,” PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in a text message to INQUIRER.net on Tuesday. 

International news agency Reuters reported that Senator Ben Cardin, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was reluctant about the US giving the weapons to the PNP “given concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines.”

Carlos said the PNP’s Bids and Awards Committee and the Directorate for Logistics will look into the background of the planned purchase from the US. 

“We will get the background of this purchase,” he said. 

Since Duterte’s drug war started last June, led by the PNP, more than 3,000 individuals have been killed in anti-drug operations or by suspected vigilantes. 

The US, a long-time ally of the Philippines, has been vocal in criticizing Duterte’s ruthless method of stamping out drugs and criminality in the country. 

Senate aides told Reuters that the Foreign Relations Committee staff informed the US State Department that Cardin would oppose the weapons deal during the department’s prenotification process for the sale of 26,000 to 27,000 assault rifles to block the deal./rga