Duterte halts deal to buy Canadian helicopters

MANILA— The Philippine president on Friday ordered the cancellation of a multimillion-dollar deal to buy 16 helicopters from Canada and said purchases of U.S. arms should also be stopped because of too many imposed conditions, although he said he still supports U.S. President Donald Trump.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s order, issued in a news conference, came after the Canadian government decided to review the $300-million deal due to concerns the Philippine military might use the helicopters in counter-insurgency assaults.

Philippine defence officials gave assurances Thursday that the Bell 412EPI helicopters would be used to ferry supplies and troops, including those wounded in combat, and to respond to disasters, and would not be employed to attack insurgents.

The helicopter deal was quietly facilitated by Canadian Commercial Corp., a Crown corporation whose role includes selling Canadian-made military equipment to foreign governments.

The government initially defended the deal, saying the helicopters would only be used for disaster relief and search-and-rescue missions, and the sale would support upwards of 1,000 jobs in the Montreal area.

But a senior officer in the Philippines military, which has been accused of committing human-rights abuses in its war with local terrorists and rebels, admitted they would be used for internal security operations.

Although he said he respects Canada’s stand, Duterte said using the helicopters just to ferry troops and dead soldiers is “a crazy proposition.”

“I’m buying helicopters because I want to finish them off,” said Duterte, referring to Muslim and communist rebels along with Islamic militants in the country’s south.