Duterte removes PNP’s procurement power

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday removed the procurement power of the Philippine National Police (PNP) after he expressed outrage over potential overpricing in the radar speed guns project.

Speaking before soldiers in Taguig City, Duterte said Interior Secretary Eduardo Año will now be in charge of the procurement on behalf of the PNP.

Duterte said a radar speed gun, which is used to catch speeding drivers, only costs P10,000 in his hometown Davao City while the PNP proposed a budget of P950,000 for each item.

He said it was the intelligence officials who notified him of the PNP’s estimate after the joint command conference in Malacañang on January 7.

“Akala ko 'yon [P950,000] ‘yung the whole gamut of… Iyon pala isa,” Duterte said.  “I may be wrong, but certainly 950 [thousand pesos] for just one radar traffic. Bulls—.”

“Tinawagan ko si Secretary Año. Sabi ko, ‘Do not allow the police to procure. Ang opisina mo na ang mag-procure... Tinanggal ko talaga maski clip. Anak ng p— inang corruption ‘to,” he added.

Duterte later told reporters that his decision should serve as a warning to other government agencies.

“You keep on f—ing the people’s money, I will remove your procurement power sa inyo” he said, as he expressed anew his desire to revive a Marcos-era bureau that will monitor government procurement. — BM, GMA News