AFP to buy 12 air, naval assets
MANILA, Philippines - The military will spend about P11 billion for 12 naval and air assets.
These are three naval patrol vessels, three patrol helicopters, two search and rescue helicopters, and four fixed-wing aircraft, according to Brig. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, Armed Forces Modernization Program Management Office chief.
All the aircraft would be brand new, while the Navy vessels would be refurbished, he added.
Deveraturda said the acquisitions will enhance the military’s patrolling and disaster response capabilities.
“These assets will have many uses,” he said.
“We can use them not only in times of war and threat but also in times of calamity.” Deveraturda said funding for these assets will come from the P8-billion proceeds from the Malampaya natural gas project in Palawan and the P3-billion modernization outlay.
“These assets are deployable anywhere,” he said.
“For now, we are focused on areas that we need to secure like the western Sulu Sea and waters off Palawan. Our mandate is to secure our 200-mile economic zone.”
The military hopes to complete the acquisition within a year. Technical working groups are now determining the specifications of the assets to be bought.
Meanwhile, two more Hamilton-class cutters will be acquired from the United States.
Armed Forces spokesman Commodore Miguel Rodriguez said the two ships are on top of the cutter to be delivered by the US Coast Guard in August.
“We are looking at acquiring more Hamiltons in the future,” he said.
“The acquisition (of the two ships) is still being discussed. It is in the exploratory stage.”
Rodriguez said the two cutters are no longer used by the US Coast Guard.
“This is an opportunity because the United States will decommission these ships, and then these are being offered to other countries,” he said.
“So we will compete with other countries to buy (them).”
The decommissioned ships are still functioning well even if they are older than the other US water assets, Rodriguez said.
Each Hamilton-class cutter costs about P1.2 billion.
The acquisition of the cutters will be bankrolled by the AFP modernization fund.
A cutter is a high-speed vessel that can cut through waves.
If the acquisition pushes through, the ships would be the first Hamilton-class cutters in the Navy’s inventory.
The US Coast Guard cutter, which is about 380 feet long, would become the Navy’s largest ship. The Navy’s current flagship and largest surface combatant, the BRP Rajah Humabon, is 308 feet long.
Rodriguez said the US cutter that will arrive in August would be stationed in Palawan to secure the natural resources, including oil deposits, in the area.
“Right now, our focus is on our natural resources in the Palawan area,” he said.
“We are trying to (set up) defenses as we transition from internal defense to external defense which is actually the primary role of the Armed Forces.”
Navy data showed that out of the 53 patrol ships in the inventory, only 26 are operational.
These patrol ships are of the average age of 36.4 years. The bigger of these vessels – the mine sweeper frigates and patrol craft escorts – are 66 and 67 years old.
Only three of the seven Navy transport vessels are operational and are already 15 years old.
The non-operational vessels are 64 years old. On the other hand, only four of the 10 Navy auxiliary ships are operational. From among the 32 small craft, 23 are operational and are of an average age of 21.3 years.
On Monday, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said President Aquino will issue an executive order allotting P8 billion from the Malampaya funds to secure energy-related projects, including new exploration by investors off Palawan.
“We need to ensure the security of all these new exploration areas,” he said.
“So thereby we did recommend and said we need to augment the security in all of these service contracts that have been previously awarded.”
The AFP Modernization Act, which took effect in 1995, has given the military the opportunity to modernize in 15 years with a total fund of P331 billion.
More than16 years have passed since the law was enacted but critics said the AFP is not even close to a modern battle force.
The delay in the implementation of the law has been attributed to lack of state funds.
Deveraturda said of the P331 billion provided by law, only P53 billion have been allotted and only about P33 billion spent.
“If we would be asked, we want some adjustments to hasten the process,” he said.
“It would be good if we can complete the process in one year,” he added.
Deveraturda said the law requires that a failure of bidding be declared before they can conduct a negotiated bid.
“We want to change the procedures so we can fast-track the procurement processes and at the same time protect the funds (from corruption),” he said.
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