MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome approved yesterday the supply contract to purchase 59,904 pistols worth P1.198 billion.
Bartolome signed the contract with Trust Trade that has a joint venture with Glock, the supplier of the 9mm Glock 17 Generation 4 in the presence of the PNP Command Group and members of the PNP Bids and Awards Committee led by Deputy Director General Emelito Sarmiento, BAC chairman and concurrent PNP deputy chief for administration.
“I already approved the supply contract for the Glock,” Bartolome told The STAR.
The PNP Procurement Division and Jocelyn Gutierrez-Jose, Trust Trade director, signed the notice of contract last Sept. 10 and the document was forwarded to the office of the PNP chief for approval.
“I have just consulted our legal officers on all aspects of the procurement process,” Bartolome added.
Bartolome said some lawmakers, particularly House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, saw the need for immediate approval of the pistol contract, considering the urgent need of policemen for firearms.
“That is why we were very careful with our procedures, and incidentally, after all of the requirements are completed, the procedures complied with, the contract has been signed and is now for my approval,” said Bartolome.
The PNP chief said, “This is a good time for all policemen to have their own firearms because they have been in need of these ever since.”
Bartolome, being the head of the procuring entity, could approve or disapprove the contract for the firearms procurement endorsed to him by the BAC and the technical working group (TWG).
Sarmiento said the deal was aboveboard and the PNP BAC strictly followed all the procedures in the procurement of the pistols, which hopes to completely fill the needed firearms for 148,000 policemen nationwide.
The TWG said the delivery period is 570 days, the first tranche of 12,000 units will be within 150 days, the second tranche within 120 days, third tranche within 120 days, 4th and 5th tranche within 90 days.
Police officials said the PNP realized savings of about P200 million from the P1.198-billion allocated budget, as procurement would only be P997,997,045.76 or P16,659.76 per pistol.
Director Arnulfo Perez, PNP Directorate for Logistics, said this procurement program allows the PNP to acquire a standard police handgun similar to modern handguns used by 60 percent of police forces in America, Europe and Asia.
“Police units in the field are assured of uniformity and interchangeability of parts of their issued handguns under any type of operating condition,” Perez said.
The PNP currently has an assortment of 85,689 handguns issued to 143,104 personnel.
“There will be enough handguns to arm all 148,000 active-duty personnel and new police recruits joining the force in the next couple of years, with enough reserves to compensate for breakage and losses,” Perez said.
Assault rifles
Bartolome said the PNP would reschedule the bidding for the procurement of assault rifles worth P391 million.
“We will schedule another bidding because we need to do that because we are in need of long firearms.”
The PNP earlier scrapped the procurement plan for 3,300 assault rifles worth P391 million last Aug. 31, or 13 days after the plane crash that killed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.
President Aquino said he himself had discovered on the Google website that the assault rifles offered to the PNP were overpriced, which prompted him to order Robredo to investigate the deal.
He said the rifles sold below $1,000 per unit (less than P43,000) while the PNP’s purchase price was P89,000 per unit.
Sarmiento said the procurement of 1,500 assault rifles for about P178 million under the Capability Enhancement Program (CEP) for 2011, which had only one bidder R. Espineli, has been suspended. R. Espineli’s bid was P89,450 per piece.