Metro mayors make up for PNP's gun shortfall

MANILA, Philippines - The reported shortage of firearms in Philippine National Police (PNP) is not felt by policemen in Metro Manila since the local government units are filling the need, a National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) official said Friday.

“We don’t feel the shortage of firearms here in Metro Manila because we have supportive mayors,” said NCRPO spokesman Superintendent Rommel Miranda.

The NCRPO has jurisdiction over the five districts in Metro Manila – the Northern Police District, Manila Police District, Southern Police District, Eastern Police District and Quezon City Police District – which has 16 cities and a municipality.

Earlier, the PNP admitted that the organization has yet to provide every policeman with short and long firearms after a study showed 51,242 of 125,000 police officers still have no PNP-issued handgun.

Chief Superintendent Lani-O Nerez, PNP Deputy Director for Logistics, said while it would be ideal for each police officer to have one issued short firearm, “due to inadequate funds to procure firearms, the PNP prioritized issuance of firearms to PNP units and personnel in high risk areas.”

Nerez said the PNP has 51,757 .9mm pistols, 11,891 .38 caliber revolvers and 10,110 .45 pistols, or a total of 73,758 short firearms.

According to Nerez, the PNP lacks 66,886 long firearms. The police force has 4,213 12-gauge rifles, 48,456 M-16 rifles, and 5,445 M-14 rifles or a total of 58,114 long firearms.

Miranda said the firearms shortage is felt by policemen assigned in the provinces and third-class municipalities.

He pointed out that mayors in poor municipalities would think first of providing basic services for their constituents and procuring firearms for local policemen would be last on their list.

Miranda said firearms help the police sustain the intensified campaign against crime.

 “We must make sure that we are armed with basic equipment such as handgun to be able to effectively fight crime,” Miranda said.

He said that in Quezon City, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. even provided members of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) with Glock guns, which cost over P50,000 a piece.

Miranda said only 37 newly recruited policemen do not have guns but they will be eventually given their own service firearms.

In an interview with The STAR, Miranda said members of the QCPD are fortunate to have Glock handguns, considered one of the more expensive brands because of their dependability, sharpness and durability.

Aside from Glock guns, Miranda added Belmonte also donated shotguns and refurbished unserviceable M16 Armalite rifles.

Northern Police District (NPD) director Chief Superintendent Eric Javier said all policemen in his district have their own PNP-issued service firearms.

“We even have a surplus of guns at the NPD,” Javier told The STAR. “The mayors of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela are all supportive.”

Javier, however, said the excess firearms in his district could not be given to other cities or towns since the memorandum receipts were given to the NPD or the police force in the district.

More shortages

The PNP also said some of the 1,741 police stations nationwide are in a dismal state of disrepair.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said these are among the challenges being addressed by the PNP through its Integrated Transformation Program (ITP).

An ITP primer stated that some police stations still use typewriters and old computers, while some lack office equipment and fax machines.

The primer stated that 80 percent of police stations are “informal settlers,” built of inferior materials and vulnerable to enemy harassment and forces of nature.

The PNP has only 7,815 motor vehicles but needs 14,524 more, particularly since 179 police stations do not have a motor vehicle at all.

Aside from the lack of vehicles, the PNP also has an inadequate supply of fossil fuel and lubricants and communication equipment such as handheld and base radios to help the police officers on the field keep in touch with their respective stations.

The PNP has only 10 aircraft and needs 41 more, and 36 watercraft but needs 111 more.

The police force has only one tertiary hospital and 16 dispensary clinics to provide medical services to 125,000 police personnel and their dependents.

The PNP General Hospital, with old and outmoded equipment and facilities, has only 300 beds to serve the entire police force.

Police officers themselves also have problems, according to the ITP primer. At least 52,498 police officers are in dire need of decent shelter while 60 percent of those ranked Police Officer 1 to 3 live below the poverty line.

Verzosa said the PNP has lined up 34 projects to address these problems.