QUEZON CITY -- Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Police General Guillermo Lorenzo T Eleazar tasked all concerned units to look into the supposed discrepancies on records for the transfer of firearms and body armor vests to police regional offices as observed by the Commission on Audit (COA).

PGen Eleazar assured the COA that the PNP’s accounting division, Directorate for Comptrollership, and the Directorate for Logistics are already checking the records to make the necessary adjustments and correct the supposed discrepancies and ensure that all the items were delivered to the concerned police regional offices.

“I already directed the concerned police offices to check why the records of the National Headquarters and the Police Regional Offices do not match. They should reconcile the records and correct the discrepancies to avoid possible issues in the deployment of weapons and other equipment to the Police Regional Offices,” PGen Eleazar said.

“The PNP remains transparent and I assure the COA that we will address and correct this. Gusto din natin tiyakin na ang lahat ng mga gamit na nakalaan para sa ating mga Police Regional Offices ay nakararating at accounted,” he added.

The COA has said there was lack of records to show that the firearms and body armor vests were turned over to the Police Regional Offices across the country.

The Commission said in its 2020 report that the books of accounts of 11 Police Regional Offices did not match the number of items -including 9mm pistols, basic assault rifles, enhanced combat helmets, and tactical vests- which were supposedly transferred to them as indicated in the records at the PNP NHQ.

Among the Police Regional Offices are those in the Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Cordillera Administrative Region, and at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (PNP)