MANILA, Philippines – A plan to dismantle former Philippine military ships has been postponed as the planned acquisition of new vessels has been halted through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The dismantling of all the former Navy ships will continue. However, time has changed,” said The head of Navy Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo in INQUIRER.net.
No contracts have been signed for these systems to date.
Bacordo stated that in the initial schedule, the first two of the 8 FAIC-M would arrive in the last component of this year. The first of the two contact docks would be delivered in 2021 and the first of the six OPVs would also be delivered in 2021.
The projects, however, are now seen to be delayed by more than one year as a result of the economic fallout from the pandemic.
The leader of the armed forces said a “phase-out” plan would have been implemented, which meant that the old ships would be eliminated as new ships entered.
“As soon as the landing docks are in, phase out the landing ship tanks. As soon as the FAIC-Ms are in, phase out the small patrol boats and patrol craft,” he said.
“As soon as the PVOs are in place, escort patrol boats and mine dredger frigates,” he added.
In May, one billion P3s were removed from DND’s 2020 budget. This, in addition to the 6.7 trillion pesos fund that had been abolished from the firm in April.
More recently, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told the government-run Philippine news firm that the acquisition of two corvettes for the Philippine army had been transferred to Horizon 3, the army’s modernization plan for 2023 to 2028.
This means the planned acquisition of another refurbished Pohang-class corvette from South Korea could be affected as well.
“This can only be achieved if the corvette agreement is concluded with HHI (Hyundai Heavy Industries),” Bacordo said.
Last week, the Philippine Navy commissioned its first specially built warship, BRP Jose Rizal. This is the first of two frigates purchased from South Korean manufacturer HHI for billions of pesos.
By the time the ship is expected to arrive, BRP Antonio Luna will arrive in the next six months.
TSB
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