Why is the Navy still buying used or old ships?

Last Tuesday, Metro Cebu experienced one of the strongest rains we’ve ever had in the so many years we’ve lived in Cebu, which gives us an idea of how the global climate has changed so much. Naturally the TV news reported a lot of flooding, especially in low-lying areas in Metro Cebu. As a PAGASA official reported, this was caused by a “micro burst,” where even areas of Metro Cebu that never seem to get flooded were now inundated with the flash floods. The rains began at around 9 a.m. and stopped at around 1 p.m., and by late afternoon, the floods already subsided.

In all honesty, Cebu almost never gets flooded because of the many rivers and creeks which are in reality nothing but storm drains. But because of the squatters who are protected by that stupidity called the Lina Law, they build their homes or shanties anywhere they like and more often than not, they do this along riverbanks or along creeks or esteros, even if there is a three-meter easement where no one can build anything. Hence these rivers and creeks are clogged, just like a human artery that gets clogged and needs either a stent or a bypass operation. Thiss means relocating those illegal squatters from the danger areas as a means of embracing that old dictum, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.”

For too long, our local government units in Metro Cebu failed miserably to stop the construction of these illegal shanties. In Lapu-Lapu City, you can see these shanties as you cross any of the two bridges connecting the Mactan Channel. In Mandaue City, they are almost everywhere.

In Cebu City, they are mostly in areas that people thought no one would dare build houses along riverbanks or creeks. For as long as these illegal settlers clog our riverbanks and creeks, and our Office of the Building Official turns a blind eye to this problem, every time there’s strong rain or worse a typhoon, we will see many families living there affected by flash floods.

This week Malacañang was seen as siding with that demolition of shanties in San Juan, where some 40 settlers were hurt. No doubt that siding with the poor is seen as a practice of traditional politicians (tradpol) and we can only wish that President P-Noy came up with a scheme which would give housing to the poor without the need for court orders to demolish their shanties. If the President has the political will to do this, then there is a chance that here in Metro Cebu our mayors, too, can rid our riverbanks and creeks of these illegal settlers and ensure that rain water cascading down from the hills would flow freely into the sea.

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Just a couple of weeks ago President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III vowed to give his special support to the Philippine Navy (PN) when he installed its new chief, Rear Admiral Alexander Pama. Well, this week Admiral Pama announced that the Navy was getting a used 380-foot Hamilton Class cutter that the US Coast Guard fleet uses. The Navy chief said that acquiring this vessel would boost the Philippines’ capability to patrol its archipelago. Come now, I’d believe it if the Navy was getting at least 10 of these vessels, but I think we are only getting one because even those old cutters are so expensive, and we can afford to purchase only one of them.

Here we go again… buying old ships that come from the US. I tell you, it is a shame for us to use such a vessel which by the way was constructed in 1965 and commissioned in 1967! That vessel is at least 44 years old, older than the men who would man them! This means it would spend more time for maintenance work than doing patrols. Remember the three Peacock Class Corvettes we got from Hong Kong (renamed the Jacinto Class for the Philippine Navy), at least they entered the service of the Royal Navy in 1983, hence they are relatively new as compared to the Hamilton Class cutters, although they are very much slower and with lesser armaments.

When the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sold Fort Bonifacio, it was with the promise that it would trigger the modernization of our military. Perhaps Admiral Pama should be told that we Filipinos wouldn’t feel proud that we have a used US Coast Guard cutter that would be the flagship of the Philippine Navy. Right now, we do not even know how much this thing would cost the Navy… all we got is a report that says, “Negotiations are still ongoing.” Last November President P-Noy was in Balamban for the launching of the 287-meter bulk carrier “Tenshu Maru,” the biggest vessel ever built by the Tsuneishi Cebu Heavy Industries. P-Noy knows that we have the capability to build our Navy ships and spur our economy. Alas, he still doesn’t get it and would rather buy old Navy ships instead of building smaller, but more efficient and brand new seacraft. 

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