MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte officially turned over 3,000 pistols to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in partial fulfillment of his promise to give all Filipino soldiers handguns.

In a ceremony held in Malacañang on Tuesday, July 18, Duterte turned over the caliber .45 pistols to AFP chief General Eduardo Año.

This initial batch of pistols, each with 3 magazines, was purchased by the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service through a simplified bidding process.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters that the ongoing Marawi crisis and martial law proclamation served as basis for using an “emergency” mode of procurement for the guns.

The company that provided the pistols is Armscor Global Defense Incorporated. The procurement made use of funds from the AFP’s modernization program, said Diokno.

During his speech at the ceremony, Duterte said he wants to give all soldiers pistols, in addition to their service firearms, so that they can protect themselves at all times, even when outside military camps and during authorized rest and recreation periods.

He even said he would “overrule” regulations that prohibit soldiers from bringing sidearms outside their camps.

“I am not in favor of the rule that you cannot bring your sidearm outside of your camp residence. I will overrule that kind of regulation because it is stupid,” said Duterte.

The President told stories of soldiers getting killed by New People’s Army members who wait for them outside their homes and take advantage of their lack of a firearm.

“What I don’t like there is they kill someone who isn’t armed, they have no chance. So I said, this cannot be, I really need to place my soldiers on equal footing with them,” said Duterte in a mix of English and Filipino.

LOOK: 3,000 units of pistols #PresidentDuterte will give to military today. Pistols procured from Armscor Global Defense Inc. pic.twitter.com/Lls6vQkLAL

— Pia Ranada (@piaranada) July 18, 2017

But he also cited instances when security personnel like police would use their guns irresponsibly. He recalled times when he was mayor when he would hear of police getting drunk and shooting each other.

He asked the soldiers to be more responsible with the pistols being given to them.

“You soldiers, take control of your men… Try to impart [to] them the discipline of, you know, a very dangerous toy,” said Duterte.

As he ended his speech, he reminded them not to use the guns “against innocent civilians.”

Año, in his speech, thanked the President for the pistols, saying they are sure to “boost morale of troops, improve combat efficiency, and organizational performance.” – Rappler.com