GMA okays P707-M Navy equipment deals

President Arroyo, in her capacity as acting defense secretary, approved yesterday three equipment upgrade contracts totaling some P707 million.

The contracts will upgrade and put back in shape five gunboats and two aircraft of the Philippine Navy.

Defense Undersecretary for Operations Ricardo Blancaflor said President Arroyo approved the equipment upgrade contracts after a single-stage open competitive bidding was conducted in October and November last year and in March this year.

Single-stage open competitive bidding is usually done on a one-shot deal basis with the proceedings open to the public.

"The approval of the contracts came in the heels of a policy laid down by President Arroyo shortly after she took over last Nov. 30 as concurrent defense secretary, prescribing shortened procurement time for military acquisitions, without sacrificing transparency," Blancaflor said in a press statement.

But Blancaflor did not answer queries on whether an acting defense secretary is allowed to approve a contract exceeding P50 million.

"But the single-stage open competitive bidding is the usual public bidding we adopt. It is referred to as ‘single stage’ to differentiate it from the two-stage competitive bidding. The two-stage competitive bidding is used when the requirements are not clear and the procuring entity makes use of inputs from the prospective bidders to firm up the specs, terms of reference and scope of work," Blancaflor said in a text message.

Blancaflor said three Jacinto-Class patrol vessels amounting to P353.6 million; two Patrol Killer Medium gunboats worth P282 million; and the two Britten Norman Island aircraft worth P71.6 million, are covered by the contracts.

The patrol vessels will undergo major repairs at the FF Cruz Shipyard in Iloilo and are expected to be fully operational in 2008, while the two gunboats will be operational middle of next year after being repaired at the Santiago Shipyard and Shipbuilding Corp. in Cebu.

Once operational, the patrol vessels will be utilized by the Philippine Navy for its sustained naval seaborne operations and sovereign patrols, particularly in patrolling the Malampaya Natural Gas Project in Palawan.

The gunboats, on the other hand, are to be used by the Navy in its internal security operations and other related maritime operations.

Two Navy Islanders are also expected to be airworthy for maritime patrol in a year’s time after the restoration of the planes’ airframes, overhauling of engines, installation of communications and navigational, weather and search radars have been completed by Hawker Pacific Pte. Ltd.

President Arroyo is also set to approve three equipment acquisition contracts for the Philippine Army.

These are the acquisition of modern field communications to be used by the Armed Forces Joint Special Operations Group, Night Fighting Systems, Laser Aiming and Zeroing Device for the Army, and 134 engineering and transport vehicles from South Korea.

Mrs. Arroyo’s approval of the defense department’s multimillion-peso upgrade for the Navy is regarded by some as the second major decision she has made when she temporarily took over the top defense post following the resignation of Avelino Cruz Jr. last month.

Last Dec. 12, the President reorganized the defense department by abolishing several offices and replacing them with new ones.