Remulla willing to take lie detector test to prove he rejected P8-B gun deal
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he is ready to face a congressional probe over a proposal for the Philippine National Police to buy P8 billion worth of firearms, which he said he rejected.
“If I’m called on by Congress and the Senate to give all the details, I will do it,” Remulla told reporters in Quezon City on Monday. “I’m willing to take a lie detector test to prove my point that I did not approve the proposal.”
A claim has been circulating on social media that former PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III was abruptly fired from his post on Aug. 25 because he did not endorse the deal.
Remulla confirmed his office received the P8-billion firearms purchase proposal about a month ago, although he did not say who submitted it to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
According to him, if the proposal had been approved, it would have been added to the DILG’s proposed 2026 budget as a congressional insertion since it was not in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“We cannot bid on that kind of item because the bidding of the DILG is usually limited to office supplies, maintenance and other operating procedures,” Remulla said.
Competent authority
“So I wrote to General Torre and told him that he was the competent authority to judge the quality of the product, whether the product was even needed and if he was going to sign the order,” he added.
At the same time, Remulla flagged a social media post showing the last page of a National Police Commission (Napolcom) resolution, which showed his signature and those of other Napolcom officials. There was no signature above the name of Torre, which supposedly proved he did not approve the deal.
But Remulla and one of the signatories, Napolcom Executive Officer Rafael Calinisan, said the document was taken from Napolcom Resolution No. 2025-0531, which ordered Torre to reassign 13 third-level police officials.
The DILG earlier said Torre had rejected the P8-billion firearms proposal, saying the purchase was not necessary. Remulla said he agreed with Torre.
“When I first assumed office, as long as it was not in the President’s NEP, I did not sign it,” he stressed.
At the press conference confirming Torre’s ouster on Aug. 26, Remulla maintained that President Marcos removed the PNP chief to “uphold the role of the Napolcom” following a dispute over the assignment of 13 third-level officials.
Congressional insertions
In an interview on radio station dzBB earlier on Monday, Remulla said he had been against approving congressional insertions in the DILG’s budget since his appointment as secretary in October 2024.
“When it comes to insertions, my office does not act on it. If anybody lobbies for insertions, I do not approve it,” he added.
He claimed that during congressional deliberations on the DILG’s 2025 budget, a P1-billion insertion for light amphibious vehicles from Czechoslovakia was added.
“The dealer then was related to the companies of Ako Bicol party list Rep. Zaldy Co. I said no. When the General Appropriations Act came out, we had a meeting with the President.When I read it, I said, ‘Sir, I will have to refuse these insertions because I do not think these are proper,’” Remulla said.
Co was contacted for comment but he has yet to respond.
