THE Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday said a study is under way to arm with missiles and other sophisticated weapons the two decommissioned US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutters that were acquired weaponless by the Navy. Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said the plan was discussed by DND officials, led by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, with President Aquino. “I was there [in the meeting]. We discussed about the present capability of the two weather high-endurance cutters, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar [PF15] and BRP Ramon Alcaraz [PF16]. We discussed with the President what we’re going to do to increase their capability in terms of weaponry,” Manalo said.
He said the discussion was anchored on how to maximize the two cutters to effectively patrol and defend from intruders the Malampaya Gas Project off Palawan, as well as sovereignty patrols on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) where the disputed Spratly Islands are located. The Spratlys Islands is composed of islets and two reefs. The Municipality of Kalayaan has a population of less than 500 and its town center is on Pagasa Island. It is under the leadership of Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon. “We will use the cutters to secure our Malampaya and other service contract areas of the Department of Energy. We updated the President on the status of PF15 and PF16 and how to increase their capability,” Manalo said.
The PF15 was commissioned in December 2011 and figured in March last year when its sailors boarded several Chinese fishing boats caught illegally gathering marine resources on Panatag (Scarborough Shoal) off Masinloc, Zambales. The interception led to a standoff with China. The PF16 was still being refurbished in the US and is expected to arrive in the country in March for commissioning. During the discussion, Manalo said the President agreed to a proposal to increase the capability of the cutters with “due diligence.” “Malaki naman iyong barko so nandoon ang opportunity na lagyan din natin ng mga equipment o magdadagdag ng capability but kinakailangan niyan is merong due diligence. Pinapag-aralan natin kung puwede ba nating lagyan ng surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile systems,” said Manalo. The more than four-decades-old cutters were bought for more than P450 million each and part of the modernization program for the Navy.
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