555 cops in EV receives brand new guns

By RPCRD, Police Regional Office 8
September 30, 2013

CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte – Eastern Visayas top police official Police Chief Supt. Elmer R. Soria and Police Director Gil J. Hitosis, the Director for Logistics of the Philippine National Police, personally led the distribution of new handguns to police personnel in the region without issued sidearms.

In ceremonial distribution held at the Police Regional Office 8 Matapat Hall Monday, the top police officials handed over some 72 brand-new Glock 17 Generation 4 safe-action 9mm pistols to policemen who were pre-selected to receive the new service firearms.

“Our law enforcers, especially those who are deployed in the field and at the forefront of combating crime, can now better serve and protect the citizenry,” Soria said.

He informed that those with the ranks of Police Officers 1 to 3 were prioritized in the distribution after passing the training on firearms proficiency and maintenance conducted by the PNP Training Service - Regional Special Training Unit 8.

The PRO8 received 595 brand-new pistols under the PNP’s Capability Enhancement Program (CEP) from the initial 22,603 units distributed to police units nationwide as part of the first tranche of delivery which will be completed in April next year.

Forty of the new guns were used as training pistols while 555 were distributed to the different police offices in the region.

“The recent and future distribution will enable all active-duty personnel and future police recruits joining the PRO8 to be issued with service short firearms,” Soria informed.

Prior to the distribution of new hand guns, only 2,929 out of 6,193 police personnel in the region have issued short guns.

Soria added that the acquisition of the Glock pistols is considered the biggest procurement project in PNP history with 74,879 Glock guns for distribution to police units nationwide.

The Glock 17 has a market price of P40,940.00, but with the transparent conduct of the bidding process, the PNP got a better deal with the distributor that sold the guns for only P16,659.94 purchase price.

This saved the PNP an amount of P200,082.954.24 from the original P1.198 billion allocation that was used in buying additional 15,000 pieces of the same brand.

The Glock 17 pistol is the service firearm used by at least 65 percent of police forces and law enforcement agencies in the world including the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Swiss Army special forces.

It is the same weapon issued to British troops in Afghanistan in January for their personal protection and as a second armament in case their SA80 rifle fails.