Noy leads arrival rites for Alcaraz

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will lead today’s arrival ceremony for BRP Ramon Alcaraz, the second warship acquired recently by the Philippine Navy from the United States Coast Guard.

The welcome rites will be held at 10 a.m. at the Alava Pier in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.           

Aquino is expected to deliver a speech and greet the ship’s crew. 

Capt.Ernesto Baldovino, the ship’s commanding officer, will deliver a report detailing their voyage from the US, which lasted about two months.

After the arrival ceremony, the 45-year-old ship will be prepared for commissioning, set next month. The white frigate will also be repainted grey, the official color of Philippine Navy ships.

The Alcaraz, which docked in Subic Bay on Sunday, was subjected to quarantine procedures.

Before sailing for Subic, the frigate was welcomed by its sister ship, BRP Gregorio del Pilar through a “meeting procedure” held in Bolinao, Pangasinan.

Commissioned by the Philippine Navy in 2011, the Gregorio del Pilar is the first warship acquired by the country from the US, where it was first launched in 1965.

The government spent about P450 million to acquire Del Pilar and more than P600 million for Alcaraz, under the US government’s defense excess articles program.

Critics said the Alcaraz is just another hand-me-down from the US.

Supporters said the frigate would strengthen the country’s territorial defense capabilities.

Manned by 14 officers and 74 enlisted personnel, the Alcaraz reached Philippine waters last Aug. 2 through Casiguran in Aurora.

The ship left its homeport in Charleston, South Carolina last June 10 and made port visits in San Diego and Honolulu, Hawaii before sailing for its last stopover in Guam. It sailed for Manila on July 27.

The ship was named after Commodore Ramon Alcaraz, a Navy officer who commanded a patrol boat that shot down three Japanese aircraft during World War II. – With Ric Sapnu