From Update.Ph (Nov 2): Senator calls US a ‘bully’ for halting arms sale to PH
It’s not a scare tactic but a bully attitude. This was how Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson described the decision of the US State Department to halt its planned rifle sale to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“The United States’ decision to halt the planned sale of 26,000 rifles to the Philippine National Police was not a scare tactic but a bully attitude towards a longtime ally – which is not fair, the Philippines being an equally sovereign state,” Lacson said in a statement.
Lacson, who is a former PNP chief, earlier stressed that it has yet to be proven that there were human rights violations committed in the intensified anti-illegal drug campaign under the current administration.
He said that the US State Department should first show a “conclusive investigation that affirms what Sen. Benjamin Cardin has alleged” before issuing a statement banning the sale of assault rifles.
An exclusive report from Reuters noted that the US State Department is meaning to stop the planned sale of some 26,000 assault rifles to the PNP after US Senator Ben Cardin said he would oppose it.
Aides further said Cardin was “reluctant for the United States to provide the weapons given concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines.”
Although the US decision to halt its arms sale may disrupt the implementation of the PNP’s Capability Enhancement Program (CEP), Lacson said that the PNP should start shopping in other territories for weapons and ammunition.
Lacson cited Taiwan as an example of a country that has stopped buying police firearms from the US and is now procuring their standard 9mm pistols from Germany.
“There are other sources like Israel, Belgium, even Russia and China,” the senator said.
http://www.update.ph/2016/11/senator-calls-us-a-bully-for-halting-arms-sale-to-ph/10650
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