The Philippine Navy now has a "firmer grip on the helm
and surer vision of its destination" as it celebrated its 118th founding
anniversary Wednesday.
"The rough seas of our history have made us better
sailors and the unfriendly terrains have made us stronger warriors who have
deeper understanding of both our strengths and our failings," PN
flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Caesar Taccad.
"Each time we were near drowning and breaking, we rose
yet again to overcome and prevail benign neglect. Antiquated assets,
corruption, and incompetence have once plagued us, we can proudly say today,
not anymore," he added.
To preserve these gains, Taccad said the PN is "living
day-to-day" according to the norms of good governance.
"We remember for whom we have done it, every risk we
have averted, every disaster we braved, every family we were able to keep
together or at the least give comfort to in the face of loss and devastation,
every cold and hungry brethren whom we were able to help rebuild and fortify,
and every sea and island we were able to secure. Today, we celebrate these
stories of survival and rising again. Shared victories of our navy and our
nation," he stressed.
Incidentally, President Benigno S. Aquino III was the
guest-of-honor and speaker in the Navy's 118th founding anniversary Wednesday.
Aquino also headed the commissioning ceremonies for the
country's first strategic sealift vessel, the BRP Tarlac (LD-601) and three
ex-Royal Australian Navy landing craft heavies who were named BRP Agta
(LC-290), BRP Iwak (LC-289) and BRP Waray (LC-288).
All four ships will be assign to the Sealift Amphibious
Force of the Philippine Fleet.
The PN chief also took this opportunity to express the
entire PN's appreciation to Aquino for his efforts in modernizing the Navy.
"Allow me sir to take this time to express the
gratitude of all the men and women of the navy for the support and faith you
have given us. Under your leadership, the Navy saw an unprecedented momentum in
the upgrade of our capability since the modernization program started. Year
after year, we saw the outpouring of support as our government acquired more
and more assets, platforms, and hardwares to boost our navy’s capability,"
Taccad said.
"We have built better facilities and naval bases that
boosted our naval defense posture, within only six years, we were able to add
to our inventory the two Del Pilar-class frigates, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar
(PF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), five AgustaWestland AW-109 helicopters,
three multi-purpose attack craft, and most recently our first landing dock
vessel, the BRP Tarlac and five landing craft heavy from Australia namely BRP
Waray, BRP Iwak, BRP Agta, BRP Ivatan, and BRP Batak," he added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=891000
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