De la Rosa says Duterte pushes through with buying 27,000 rifles from US
Buying 27,000 assault rifles from a United States gun manufacturer will proceed after
Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa revealed Monday he convinced President Rodrigo Duterte of the need for this.
Duterte earlier ordered the PNP to cancel the deal following reports a US senator would block the sale because of concerns of human rights violations in the government's drug war.
But Dela Rosa said he spoke to Duterte during the trip to Malaysia. "We reported to him the processing of the documents is gong on smoothly according to Sig Sauer," Dela Rosa told reporters in a press briefing.
"When I explained that to him, he (Duterte) said okay, you continue."
With the election of business tycoon Donald Trump as the next US president, Dela Rosa is confident the relationship between America and the Philippines will improve.
"He and Donald Trump are friends," said Dela Rosa.
The procurement of 27,404 rifles for P1.7 billion was coursed through a request with the Department of Budget and Management. The contract agreement was signed on July 13, 2016 with the first set of delivery by April 2017.
Dela Rosa was previously looking at gun manufacturing companies from Germany, Israel, Belgium, Russia and China. Emmanuel Tupas/DMS
