MANILA, Philippines – Nilinaw ni Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla na walang nakipag-ugnayan sa kanyang miyembro ng House of Representatives tungkol sa umano’y P8-bilyon na insertion sa budget, para sa pagbili ng mga rifle para sa Philippine National Police (PNP).
Sa pagdinig ng House committee on appropriations noong Lunes, hinggil sa panukalang 2026 budget ng Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), tinanong ni Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Emano si Remulla ukol sa mga congressional insertion para sa pagbili ng 80,000 armas.
Sinabi ni Emano na ito ay panandaliang napag-usapan sa mga tanong na inihain nina Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima at Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, ngunit hindi ito natukoy kung ang mga mambabatas ay lumapit kay Remulla para sa panukalang pagbili ng mga baril.
“Last July 29, I received a text from a purveyor of firearms, and he sent a letter to my office for me to sign, to address to the House leadership, for the purchase of P8 billion worth of firearms. In the text, he said that it would be congressional insertion, and that they can squeeze for the budget,” saad ni Remulla.
“I have to make it clear that no congressman called me on the matter; it was a lobbyist who was trying to make it happen,” dagdag niya.
Ayon kay Remulla, tumugon siya sa pagsasabing walang technical expertise ang DILG para tugunan ang usapin, at binanggit na ang PNP ang maaaring gumawa ng assessment.
Nasa ilalim pa rin ng PNP ang dating hepe nito na si Gen. Nicolas Torre III, nang matanggap ni Remulla ang mensahe tungkol sa panukalang pagpasok ng baril.
“I responded by saying that the DILG does not have the technical capacity to bid [for] firearms because our BAC (Bids and Awards Committee) is only limited to office supplies and a few seminars,” aniya.
“So I referred the matter to General Torre, and General (Jean) Fajardo was there in the meeting, and I referred it to him and I asked him to give the technical specification, to assess whether it did or not, and informed him that the letter would be forthcoming from what I received,” dagdag niya.
Ayon kay Emano na ang pagbanggit sa salitang “Congress” ay maaaring magkaroon ng iba’t ibang implikasyon, lalo na para sa mga taga-Mindanao, na iniisip na ang “Congress” ay tumutukoy sa Kamara at hindi ang buong sangay ng lehislatura.
“So, for the record and to set the record straight, no congressmen or any legislator approached you because there was—it was a short, I call it, lobbyist. I just wanted to make sure, Mr. Chairman, because sometimes, the way you understand and the way you call Congress in Luzon is different from how we call it in Mindanao,” saad ni Emano.
“Every time you say that in Congress, our people in Mindanao think that it’s a congressman, not both the House and the Senate. In Mindanao, when you say Congress, it’s Congressman. When you say Senate, it’s the senators […] that’s why I wanted to put the record straight,” dagdag niya.
“For the record, sir, there was no congressman who contacted me,” sagot ni Remulla. RNT/MND
