Acquisition of 21 Huey helicopters for Air Force fails anew

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The acquisition of 21 combat utility helicopters by the Department of National Defense (DND) was stalled anew today, a setback for the military modernization of Philippine Air Force (PAF) which is in urgent need of such aircraft.

DND's Bids and Awards Committee declared on Friday a failure of bidding for the refurbished UH1H, or Huey helicopter, because the only bidder was not able to comply with the set requirements.

According to the committee, the US-based Rice Aircraft Services Inc, which partnered with Eagle Copter, failed to satisfy the documentary requirements set by the body. Worse, one of the documents submitted was unsigned, prompting the submission a mere "scrap of paper."

DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, who chairs the committee, said the PAF will be directed to conduct a study on how to proceed with the project which is part of the long-delayed modernization program.

"While it is unfortunate that we have to declare the (failed) bidding, we are still going to pursue the implementation of this project," Manalo said after the bidding proceedings in Camp Aguinaldo in Metro Manila.

This is the third time the bidding which has an approved budget of P1.26 billion (about $28.38 million) failed. The first failure in bidding happened last December and the second one last February.

Aside from being used in disaster and relief operations, Huey helicopters equipped with machineguns can also be used in the transport of troops and the logistics during combat operations against various threat groups. They are also used in the evacuation of casualties.