President Benigno Aquino III. KRISTINE SABILLO/黑料社
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� President听Benigno听Aquino III on Thursday showcased the 鈥渘ew face鈥� of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 鈥� an institution rid of butchers.
Speaking before officers and soldiers of the AFP听听at the ceremonial turnover of rifles in Camp General Emilio听Aquinaldo, Quezon City, Aquino said the arrest of retired Army Major General听Jovito听Palparan听and the acquisition of modern equipment bring forth a new breed of soldiers who are respected by the public.
鈥淣oong Martes nga ng umaga, nahuli听na听ang听isa听sa听mga听most wanted听sa听Pilipinas, at听ngayon听ay听dadaan听na听sa听tama at听makatarungang听proseso, para tumugon sa听mga听alegasyon听ng pang-aabuso听laban听sa听kanya.听Masasabi听na听rin听po听natin听ngayon: Kung dati, kinakatakutan ang inyong hanay bilang mga berdugo,听ngayon,听ginagalang听at听pinagkakatiwalaan听kayo听bilang听mga听tunay听na听kabalikat听ng听sambayanang听Pilipino,鈥� he said.
(On Tuesday morning, one of the most wanted fugitives in the Philippines was arrested and will now face due process to answer accusations of abuse against him. We can now say that while in the past you were seen as butchers, now you are being respected and trusted as true partners of the Filipino people.)
Aquino said uniformed personnel will no longer need to rely on courage and resourcefulness because the government is now able to provide for their needs because of proper management of funds.
鈥淭inatapatan听natin听ng听modernong听kagamitan听ang听husay听(ng听mga听sundalo),鈥� he said.
(We are purchasing modern equipment to match the performance of our soldiers.)
After distributing the rifles, Aquino reminded the soldiers to take good care of the weapons and to serve their country well.
The government was able to procure 50,629 assault rifles, worth P38,402.13 each, in accordance with the AFP Modernization Program.Although P3,189,627,000 was allotted for the purchase of the rifles, only P1,944,261,591.66 was spent through public bidding. The remaining听 amount will be used to purchase 23,622 additional rifles.
AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio听Catapang听Jr. said the last major acquisition of rifles was done between 1974 and 1987 through the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Program although some units were acquired through the United States Excess Defense Articles Program in the early 2000s.
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