THE Police Regional Office (PRO) of Davao distributed at least 338 Glock handguns to police provincial offices in the region Monday.

PRO-Davao director Wency Pascual handed four Glock .9mm pistols to four police officers during the ceremonial distribution at Camp Quintin M. Merecido, Catitipan in Davao City.

The four police officers who received the pistols were Police Officer 1 (PO1) Besas from Davao Oriental Provincial Police Office, PO2 Mutoc from Davao Norte Provincial Police Office, PO1 Arce from Compostela Valley Provincial Police Office, and PO1 Javelona from Davao Sur Provincial Police Office.

"They (the four police officers) were formally given the pistols after our flag ceremony yesterday (Monday) kasi sila ang nag top sa marksmanship training sa area nila," Pascual said in an interview.

Pascual added that the rest of the guns will be distributed to four police provincial offices, while the Davao City Police Office will have to wait for the next batch of Glock pistols to be distributed later this month or earlier next month.

"Our police officers, especially those who are deployed in the field and at the forefront of combating crime, could now better serve and protect the public," Pascual said, adding that the pistols were given to the new police officers.

Pascual said those with the ranks of police officers 1 to 3 were prioritized in the distribution after passing training on firearms proficiency and maintenance conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Training Service.

Pascual said the Glock pistol were already tested at the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame and were given as part of the capability enhancement program of the PNP.

The Glock 17 has a market price of P40,940, but with the transparent conduct of the bidding process, the PNP got a better deal with the distributor that sold the gun for only P16,659.94 each.