MANILA — Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday said all of the M-4 assault rifles donated by the People’s Republic of China (PROC), will be turned over to the Philippine National Police (PNP) for their ongoing campaign against hard drugs, terrorism, and counter-insurgency.
The weapons, except the sniper scopes, will be immediately handed over to the PNP once these pass through the military’s logistic units for recording and accounting purposes.
On Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Zhao Jianhua, handed over 3,000 M-4 assault rifles, three million rounds of ammunition and 30 sniper scopes to Lorenzana during short ceremonies in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
This is the second batch of weaponry donated by the Chinese government to the Philippines. All of the items were given without any costs to the Philippines, Lorenzana said.
“According to the directive of the President, they (Chinese M-4s) will be given to the (PNP). If you remember, the PNP tried to buy 26,000 (M-4 units) from (a) dealer in the United States but it has taken them too long to deliver, so we are lucky that the Chinese government (has) provided (us) with firearms,” he said.
Lorenzana added the first batch of Chinese donated weapons, consisting of 3,000 rifles with five million rounds of bullets along with 90 sniper rifles and 800,000 round of ammunition, were handed to the PNP a few months after.
The arms shipment arrived at Clark Air Base, Angeles City, Pampanga last June 28. (PNA)
