THE PNP has acquired P3.9 billion worth of equipment, including five helicopters, intended to boost the law enforcement capability of the police force.
Five more helicopters are due to be delivered until next year, said PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa who witnessed the blessing of the newly-acquired equipment at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame yesterday.
“We now have five (helicopters) and five more are coming. Two are towards the end of this year and three more in the middle of next year,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Jose Ma. Ramos, chairman of the PNP Bids and Awards Committee, presented to Gamboa the equipment funded by the PNP’s Capability Enhancement Program and other sources.
The equipment include a twin-engine Bell 429 helicopter; two single-engine Bell H125 helicopters; two R44 training helicopters; 21 units EOD/K9 patrol vehicles; 34 utility trucks; thousands of 2,001 Taurus, Tisas, and Canik 9mm pistols, and Galil and K2C1 5.56mm assault rifles; hundreds of units of K3 and NEGEV7 5.56mm light machine guns, and NEGEV5 7.62mm light machine guns; 51 units of rotary blade/propelled wing unmanned aerial vehicles, and almost 8,000 units of enhanced combat helmets.
Gamboa, interviewed after the ceremony, said the vehicles will be used initially in securing the Southeast Asian Games from November 30 to December 11 and later dispatched to the field.
Gamboa said the Galil assault rifles were acquired by the PNP at P68,000 a piece, and the PNP is acquiring more Galil rifles at a lower price of P41,000 per unit this year.
“Actually, I was teasing the PDEA because they acquired 600 units (of Galil rifles), they got it P168,000 per piece. We (in the PNP) started at P68,000, now it’s down to P41,000,” said Gamboa.
Reports said the Galil rifles acquired by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were delivered last year.
