“Since it’s a planned sale of assault rifles by the U.S. to the Philippines, we do not stand to lose anything except one less gun store to choose from,” Lacson said.
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson Jr. shrugged off reports that the U.S. State Department was pulling the plug on the planned sale of around 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines, not a big loss.
“There are tens of other countries that manufacture better and probably cheaper assault rifles than the U.S.,” he added, in an apparent dig at the longtime Philippine treaty ally now in icy relations with Manila amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s frank sentiments against the West.
Senator Lacson is a Duterte ally at the Senate.
“There is now more reason for our Department of National Defense (DND) to revive our self-reliance program so we can produce our own weapons and ammunition and other military hardware,” Sen Lacson said.