AROUND P83 BILLION worth of defense contracts under the Philippine military’s modernization program has been unfrozen and given the green light by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III.
“Those contracts have a total amount of about P83 billion. These contracts span from 2014 to 2017,” Defense Undersecretary Fernando I. Manalo told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the Department of National Defense’s (DND) budget hearing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
During the hearing, Mr. Manalo explained the bidding for these contracts were approved last July after they were set aside in May since the military’s modernization law still lacked the President’s signature at that time.
These contracts, which will be made available to local as well as foreign defense contractors, include thirty projects by the DND for new military hardware for the Army, Navy and Air Force such as new missile-equipped frigates, long-range patrol aircraft, close-air support aircraft and surveillance radars.
Last year, the DND published bid invitations for two navy frigates worth P18 billion, six close-air support aircraft worth P4.9 billion, two long-range patrol aircraft for P5.9 billion and three air surveillance radars worth P2.68 billion.
The modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is ripe with opportunities for prospective bidders as the Philippine military has a long list of acquisition plans for other military hardware including ground vehicles, air assets and naval vessels.
The first AFP modernization law, Republic Act No. 7898, was approved in 1995 and was targeted to be implemented in a 15-year period. For the first five years, it had a ceiling budget of P50 billion under Philippine law.
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=dnd-p83-b-contracts-up-for-bidding&id=114926
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