PNP 'transformation' a cover for sleaze?

Mexican Antonio Margarito may have been beaten black and blue last Sunday. Still he was able to do what millions of Filipinos can only dream of: punch a congressman in the face.

And why does the crime rate drop during Manny Pacquiao’s fights? Because dozens of congressmen watch them live in Las Vegas.

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The National Police Commission discovered last week a potential scam in the Philippine National Police bidding for 298 assault rifles. It came in the nick of time; or else the Napolcom, which supervises the PNP, would have been blamed for the mess. For, its imprimatur was used as legal cover.

The Napolcom had approved the specifications as far back as 2008: the rifles were to be the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO standard. That is, the basic M16 being manufactured by Colt for the past 50 years, originally the AR-15 by ArmaLite. A maximum price of P43,210,000 was set for the lot (P145,000 apiece). No problem. Several accredited PNP suppliers eagerly awaited the bidding for two years.

Last September 2010 the PNP national headquarters bids and awards committee lobbied with the Napolcom to amend the specs. Invoking fairness, it sought removal of the patented “Independent Sear System” that could favor only its manufacturer. Fine. But in the name of standardization, it inserted a new requirement — “equipped with Cyclic Rate Reduction Stability and Accuracy Enhancement Device”. This insertion would favor only one supplier, the maker of the device based in Danao, Cebu. PNP Deputy Director General Perfecto Palad, committee chairman, advertised in October the bidding set for November 15.

Suppliers bought bidding documents at P29,000 apiece, only to find out for the first time about the insertion. They decided to back out. The Colt country rep complained to Napolcom chairman Jesse Robredo about undue favor to the Cyclic Rate Reducer maker.

The device slows down the M16’s usual cyclic rate of fire of 700-950 rpm; that is, it makes the rifle fire less rounds on automatic setting. The claim is that, with slower firing, the user is able to hit more accurately with a weapon more stable. But most law enforcement units in America purchase M16s that have only single- and semi-auto, with no full-auto feature. That way, cops must undergo stricter marksmanship training, for accuracy and to avoid unintended hits of innocent bystanders in spray fire.

At any rate, the Colt rep disputed the bid committee’s aim of equipment standardization. True, the maker was able to sell some Cyclic Rate Reducers to the PNP Special Action Force and certain municipal police departments. Still, Colt as maker of over seven million M16s blames the device for rifle malfunctions that required major repairs. The device is the only bidding item that has no MilSpec (military specification) or ISO classification.

Alerted of possible fraud, Robredo, also the Secretary of Interior and Local Governments, directed Palad last week to answer the Colt rep’s complaint. No reply has yet been made. Monday’s bidding was cancelled, though, for lack of participants. But it was unclear if the PNP would resort to negotiated purchase with the one favored supplier.

The PNP supposedly is “transforming into a more capable, effective and credible force.” Is it really? The more the PNP changes, the more it remains the same. Danger lurks in future procurements. In the 2011 national budget, the PNP has P1 billion for purchase of M16s and P1.2 billion for handguns.

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My favorite ex-senator, Rene Saguisag, reacts to last Monday’s piece on plagiarism bugging the Supreme Court and Justice Mariano del Castillo:

“There was no ruling by J. Mar, but that of the entire Court. No single Justice can issue a ruling. Only the SC can. So natulog sa pansitan lahat sa Vinuya months ago? Resign all? Hmmm. The law has to be administered, not with an ‘evil eye and an unequal hand.’ (Yick Wo v. Hopkins, whew.)

“Students cannot invoke the lapse of staff they do not and are not supposed to have. The educators overstate their case. Students are on their own, as individuals, no staff, no collegiality.

“Students’ brains should be sharpened, but we as educators are also supposed to nurture the hearts, and develop in students not only a sense of fairness but also of compassion.

 “UP has to explain why it included in the Malcolm 37 ex-Justice Vic Mendoza, who never signed the UP statement. Staff lapse perhaps? Humans should be humane. Malcolm 36 then?

“No one can tell the SC: ‘Withdraw your order.’ I am facing a disbarment charge for criticizing the SC. Directed to explain, I did, saying that criticizing the powerful had been a lifelong addiction. It still is. I am a free speech addict, aren’t I?

“UP Law, with its criminal geniuses such as Marcos & Co., should be told to get off its high horse; it has to be reminded to try its cases in court, not through the media, which may not have the entire picture. We should have a sense of where we are. (John McPhee).”

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 “Only those can comfort others in life who have borne its pains.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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