PNP to get new guns by December

MANILA, Philippines - The first batch of the 59,904 pistols worth P1.198 billion will be delivered to the Philippine National Police (PNP) by December.

“The targeted delivery will be sometime in December, the first delivery,” Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said yesterday.

PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome and other officials have briefed Roxas on matters concerning the PNP.

The PNP-Technical Working Group (TWG) said the total delivery period for the firearms is 570 days, with the first tranche of 12,000 units to be delivered within 150 days after the notice to proceed is awarded.

In its report to the PNP-Bids and Awards Committee, the TWG set the second tranche within 120 days after the first delivery, third tranche within 120 days, 4th and 5th tranches within 90 days of the preceding shipment.

Bartolome signed and approved the supply contract with Trust Trade in joint venture with Glock, the supplier of the 9 mm Glock 17 Generation 4.

Police officials said the latest procurement cost P997,997,045.76 or P16,659.76 for each unit, thus giving the PNP savings of about P200 million from the P1.198-billion allocated budget.

Roxas said the PNP followed the provisions of Republic Act 9184 in the pistol deal, which was considered the biggest single firearm procurement so far.

Deputy Director General Emelito Sarmiento, PNP BAC chairman, said the deal was aboveboard and that the PNP BAC strictly followed all the procedures in the procurement of the pistols.