Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income — Ecclesiastes 5:10
House Committee on Human Rights chair and Manila District I representative Bienvenido ‘Benny’ Abante Jr. has formally asked the Committee on Public Order and Safety to open an investigation into what he described as an “attempted insertion” of ₱8 billion in the proposed 2026 national budget for the procurement of firearms for the Philippine National Police (PNP).
In his letter to House Committee on Public Order and Safety chair and fellow Manila representative Rolando Valeriano of the city’s second district, Abante cited the importance of thoroughly examining the matter at hand, given the scale of the amount involved and its potential violation of existing laws.
“I write to formally request for the House Committee on Public Order and Safety to initiate a formal investigation on the attempted insertion of ₱8 billion in the PNP budget for 2026 for the purchase of guns and ammunitions in violation of the procurement law and RA No. 6975, as amended by RA No. 8551,” Abante stated in his request.
Abante mentioned reports circulating online, pointing to a letter purportedly from the PNP addressed to Interior Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla Jr., asking for the inclusion of ₱8 billion, “specifically for the procurement of 80,000 units of standardized caliber 5.56 mm basic assault rifles.”
According to the Manila congressman, social media reports further alleged that the letter was brought by Adrian Sanares, the son of retired general and current Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) undersecretary for peace and order Nestor Sanares, to then-PNP chief Nicolas Torre III for signature.
Torre’s refusal to sign was said to be one of the reasons for his removal from office as the country’s Top Cop.
Abante asserted that these claims require scrutiny, raising a number of questions about the propriety of the process and the accountability of the individuals involved.
“Why is a budget insertion request being facilitated by the son of an undersecretary of the agency that would approve such a request?” he querried quizzically in the letter.
The lawmaker likewise sought clarification on whether General Torre had indeed violated any law or rule that could specifically justify his unceremoniously relief from his post.
“What specific law or rule did PNP Chief Torre violate that led to his relief?” Abante asked while drawing attention to the scale of the proposed firearms acquisition, noting that ₱8 billion for 80,000 units of assault rifles translate to about ₱100,000 per firearm, which based on research and personal canvassing can be purchased instead at a much lesser price tag.
At a recent press conference, House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo City representative Ronaldo ‘Ronnie’ Puno claimed that lawmakers could not find the supposed allocation in either the 2025 or 2026 budget books, suggesting it may have been in the planning stages. Apparently, our column’s hint on the planned insertion has caused proponents of the arms deal some apprehension and we’re prompted to put it on hold—hence, no documents about it will ever be found.
But it is said that now “the beans have been spilt,” Congress will not allow the issue to simply slide without scrutiny, stressing all the while that such a large sum could not be left unexamined.
But what would the Filipino people really gain from such a probe? Apart from finding the identities of the persons behind the proposed arms deal, nothing can actually be done since the controversy is all “in the air” and without actual and concrete value to warrant the authorities to charge anyone with any crime.
We believe that it would be better for our honorable and distinguished members of Congress to focus their investigations in the reality that the modus of procurement in government that is rigged with irregularities triggered by greed is worth looking into because this is the act u means by which several of our so-called ‘devoted’ public officials are fattening their purses with taxpayers’ moneys.
In our next column, we’ll tackle the case of the Philippine Coast Guard’s attempt to bully bidders in an arms deal in order to favor one firm that promised huge rebates after procurement and payment of the needed firearms.
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