U.S. defers delivery of assault rifles to Philippines

By Andrew Shepperson

Philippine National Police conduct an anti-terrorism drill in police headquarters at Camp Bagong Diwa at Taguig city, south of Manila, on June 1, 2012. (Photo: Jay Directo/AFP/GettyImages)
The U.S. State Department has deferred the delivery of thousands of assault rifles to the Philippine National Police (PNP) due to humans right violations allegedly committed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.
Deputy Director General Archie Francisco Gamboa, chief of the PNP directorial staff, announced the shipment’s withholding on Tuesday at a Philippine Senate budget hearing for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP, Inquirer News reported.
“The recent predicament that we have [is that we have] 27,000 [rifles] supposedly ready for delivery to the PNP – Sig Sauer basic assault rifles, 5.56,” Gamboa said at the hearing.
“But because the State Department had not granted the export permit… that’s why we are contemplating on opening the specifications to other platforms so that firearms from other countries can [participate in the bidding],” he added.
While the PNP had not yet paid for the firearms, the money had already been allocated for the U.S. delivery. This means the PNP will have to go through another bidding process with other countries.
Earlier this year, Sens. Ben Cardin

Source: Guns.com