This is a re-posted opinion piece.
Obviously in his element yesterday, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III led the ceremonial commissioning of the newly acquired Hamilton-class Cutter that officially joins the Philippine Navy fleet. Flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama proudly presented to the Commander-in-chief the “newest and biggest” ship now among the sea assets of the Philippine Navy in formal military rites yesterday at Pier 13, South Harbor in Manila.
While the Navy band was playing, including “In the Navy” popularized by the all-American male group Village People, P-Noy enjoyed an extended tour of the ship along with American Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr., Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Department of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, and Communication Secretary Sonny Coloma.
The last time P-Noy had a ship tour was in the middle of the ocean somewhere in the South China Sea when the USS Carl Vinson made a port call in the Philippines last May. Also accompanied by Thomas, P-Noy had an up close and personal experience of the latest US fighter jets taking off from the American aircraft carrier, some of which were piloted by Fil-American Air Force officers.
Given the modest war equipment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), P-Noy had to make do with the five Islander and Cessna planes that did fly-by twice around the Navy’s newest ship.
Obviously feeling exuberant over this first-ever acquisition of vital naval assets under his administration, P-Noy echoed yesterday his dreams for the Philippine Navy to be able to have its own submarine someday.
The AFP Modernization Act, which Congress passed into law in 1995, was supposed to modernize the military in 15 years at a total estimated cost of P331 billion that would be raised partially from annual budget allocations and proceeds from the sale of military-owned lands. Having once headed the military as AFP chief of staff, former President Fidel Ramos started the ball rolling for the AFP modernization program.
Large tracts of prime real estate of the AFP around its military camps were sold and privatized during the Ramos administration. Two more presidents after Ramos and 16 years later, the military is still nowhere near the goals set in the AFP modernization program. As in any other well-laid plans of the Philippine government, the AFP modernization program got stalled by lack of state funds to bankroll it.
Fortunately for the AFP, their incumbent Commander-in-chief shares the vision of the modernization program and has shifted it to high gear. The Philippine Navy was given the first opportunity to purchase the ship for its long-delayed modernization program using proceeds from the Malampaya natural gas project, the funds of which are administered by the Department of Energy. According to Pama, the Navy got $10 million, or around P450 million, to pay for the transfer cost for its acquisition while the operational cost for the next two years is estimated at P120 million.
The Hamilton-class Cutter was acquired from the US Coast Guard under the excess defense articles entitlement of the Philippines in the US Foreign Military Sales program. The ship is classified as a cutter because it is a high-speed vessel that can cut through waves. It has a crew capacity of 180 and is also equipped with armament and weapon systems, helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar and other facilities to support helicopter operations.
The 380-feet Hamilton Cutter has been aptly renamed BRP (short for Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas) Gregorio del Pilar who is our country’s youngest general killed during the Filipino-American War. In Del Pilar’s grave, Pama noted, the American general who built it in honor of the fallen Philippine war hero stated: “Here lies an officer and a gentleman.”
Pama repeatedly referred to their new ship in the feminine form in his brief remarks at the program yesterday. “She now serves as a symbol and icon of Philippine Navy’s capability upgrade. On her arrival today,” Pama said, the ship’s commissioning was timely.
While bearing the name of a “man of war,” Pama hopes, however, the Navy’s newest ship is meant for keeping peace. It would beef up the Navy’s role in the protection of our country’s maritime integrity, especially in the disputed islands, atolls, reefs and banks in the West Philippine Sea, a.k.a. South China Sea. He disclosed the Navy plans to acquire two more Hamilton-class cutters from the US, also from Malampaya funds.
The quick paint job on the 44-year-old ship was visibly peeling off after the month-long voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The white ship would be repainted gray in accordance with Philippine Navy regulations. Aside from the paint job, the ship would also still need to undergo refurbishing at a total cost of around P50 million. In a public bidding of foreign and local shipbuilders, Singapore-registered Keppel Shipping won the bid to do the job for the Navy at the Batangas port where it would be docked for repair and maintenance.
Speaking of public bidding, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo called me up early last Monday to clarify certain points raised in my column on that day about the questioned public bidding of fire trucks by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). The affected contractors were wary over what they called apparent “tailor-fitting” of specifications to allegedly suit the fire trucks to be funded out of an Austrian loan offer tied to a designated supplier, Rosenbauer International A.G. of Austria.
Robredo swore such fears were unfounded as Rosenbauer is just one of the many participating bidders that could deliver fire trucks equipped with power take-off-driven pumps (PTO) as the preferred engine for the BFP’s upgrade capability program. Like the Navy, the DILG is also modernizing the BFP during P-Noy‘s watch, acquiring some 174 units of fire trucks for distribution all over the country.
The public counts on the Aquino administration’s “Tuwid na Daan” not just as policy declaration but also as something that would level the playing field for all those doing business with the government’s modernization programs.
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By: Marichu A. Villanueva – Commonsense
Source: The Philippine Star, Aug. 24, 2011
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