Rody to soldiers: Die rather than surrender

President Duterte ordered soldiers to be ready to die fighting enemies of the state rather than surrender as he led the turnover of 3,000 .45-caliber pistols to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Malacañang yesterday.

“Ang ayaw ko doon, patayin nila yung tao walang kalabanlaban. Sabi ko hindi puwede ito,” Duterte said, stressing he does not want soldiers to be killed without a fight, and neither should they surrender but die holding their guns. “Wag kayo mag surrender ng buhay, makuha man yang baril niyo, patay na kayo (Don’t surrender, if they get your gun, you’re dead).”

Each soldier will get a .45-caliber pistol with two extra magazines, the President said.

Duterte lamented how soldiers were sidelined by a past order that banned members of the military from carrying their firearms outside their camps.

“I do not mind losing the gun to the enemy. But do not give it to them alive, especially in Jolo and Zamboanga area. Don’t let the enemies behead you,” he said.

The firearms were acquired by the Department of Budget and Management under a negotiated procurement deal with ARMSCOR Global Defence Inc.

Interviewed on the sidelines of the turnover ceremony, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the money used for the emergency procurement was sourced from the AFP’s P25- billion modernization fund.

Diokno said the procurement paved the way for a simplified bidding to boost the firepower of the military, especially those fighting the terrorist Maute group in Marawi City.

AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año welcomed the distribution of the firearms, which he described as the “first horizon” of the military’s modernization project.