DAVAO CITY (UPDATED/CORRECTED) - President Rodrigo Duterte said the US State Department's decision to stop the planned sale of 26,000 firearms to the Philippines is another scare tactic of the US.

The Philippine National Police's scheduled purchase of M4 rifles from the U.S. was stopped after top Democrat Senator Ben Cardin said he opposes providing weapons to the Philippines amid concerns about human rights violations caused by President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

"Yan lang pantakot niya sa akin. Hindi sya magpabili ng armas? eh karaming de bomba dito," he said.

Duterte earlier tasked military officials to look into the possible procurement of weapons from Russia and China.

"Remember what the Russian diplomat said? 'Come to Russia. We have here anything you need,'" he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while answering questions during a news conference upon his arrival from a state visit in Japan. Reuters

Duterte has doused its traditional ally, Washington, with vitriol as the Filipino leader said the US has been treating the Philippines "like a dog on a leash."

Aides earlier said Cardin, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was reluctant for the United States to provide the weapons given concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines.

The U.S. State Department informs Congress when international weapons sales are in the works.

(Editor's note: Our initial story carried an erroneous translation of this phrase - "eh karaming de bomba dito" (We have a lot of bomb makers here). Our apologies.)