Reacting to suggestions that the country acquire more helicopters than jet fighters as the former is more useful in disaster relief operations, Department of National Defense (DND) secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Friday revealed that acquiring more rotary wing aircraft is part of the military modernization program.
However, he declined to comment on how many helicopters are being eyed to augment the existing fleet.
"Acquiring more helicopters is part of the modernization program," he said in Filipino during a radio interview.
Gazmin also clarified that negotiations with the South Korean government regarding the F/A-50 "Golden Eagle" jet aircraft was done long before the 7.2 magnitude earthquake battered parts of
"We cannot just pull out of the negotiations," he added.
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Gazmin made this announcement after some sectors, especially Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo "Pong" Biazon claimed that the money being used to fund the acquisition of the F/A-50s should be spent to acquire more helicopters and cargo planes for the military as the said equipment can be utilized for disaster and relief works.
Biazon earlier claimed that some quake-ravaged villages are to still to get any relief supplies due to lack of aerial assets.
Gazmin dismissed this claims and stressed that military helicopters are flying round-the-clock to ensure the delivery of supplies to the affected communities.
DND undersecretary Eduardo Batac earlier said that there is an ongoing bid process for helicopters.
“The helicopters that we plan to procure have been stalled for more than one year. There were some hitches in the procurement process and thus the delay. But we are trying to correct this so that we can acquire these helicopters as soon as possible,” Batac explained.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=580049
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