LEADING THE CELEBRATION of the Department of National Defense’s (DND) 75th anniversary on Monday, President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in his speech cited the government’s recent efforts to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Mr. Aquino said his government has thus far spent P41.38 billion in the AFP Modernization and Capability Upgrade Program which took effect at the start of his administration.
He said 46 projects in the program have been finished, 12 of them last year, covering, among other areas, the acquisition of 15 helicopters and two ships, the building of a landing craft utility ship, and the procurement of additional rifles, as well as capability development among government troops.
The DND’s P90.86-billion Medium-Term Capability Development Program, in accordance with the Revised AFP Modernization Law, is also ongoing, Mr. Aquino said, with 33 projects to be completed until 2017.
But Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin, in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of this event, said several projects will remain incomplete by 2016, when Mr. Aquino’s term ends.
These projects include the acquisition of 12 FA-50 lead-in fighter jets from Korea Aerospace Industries Co. Ltd whose P18.9-billion contract was signed in March this year. Only six of these jets will be delivered by 2016, Mr. Gazmin said.
“Most of the yet-to-be-completed projects will make it in time before the end of the President’s term.... There are some that will not be completed.... The FA-50s will not all be delivered by July 2016,” he said.
The purchase of antisubmarine helicopters and close air patrol aircraft, which began early this year, has yet to be finalized. The military is also in the market for two anti-submarine helicopters and six close air-support aircraft, with contract prices of P5.4 billion and P4.9 billion, respectively.
Anglo-Italian firm Augusta Westland came out the only bidder for the helicopter deal after a bid opening on Nov. 4. Once it securers a contract, the company is expected to deliver the choppers within 730 days, or 24 months.
The bid opening for the close air support aircraft, eyed by at least six foreign firms, is scheduled on December 15. The bid documents specify delivery within 540 days, or 18 months, after the contract.
In his speech, Mr. Aquino also said his administration “will continue undertaking development projects in Mindanao” -- including, notably, the multimillion-peso, 80-kilometer Basilan circumferential road -- despite security threats such as the Abu Sayyaf.
The President’s speech followed in the wake of a recent ambush by suspected Abu Sayyaf members that claimed the lives of six soldiers securing the construction of the Basilan circumferential road.
The DND’s P90.86-billion Medium-Term Capability Development Program, in accordance with the Revised AFP Modernization Law, is also ongoing, Mr. Aquino said, with 33 projects to be completed until 2017.
But Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin, in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of this event, said several projects will remain incomplete by 2016, when Mr. Aquino’s term ends.
These projects include the acquisition of 12 FA-50 lead-in fighter jets from Korea Aerospace Industries Co. Ltd whose P18.9-billion contract was signed in March this year. Only six of these jets will be delivered by 2016, Mr. Gazmin said.
“Most of the yet-to-be-completed projects will make it in time before the end of the President’s term.... There are some that will not be completed.... The FA-50s will not all be delivered by July 2016,” he said.
The purchase of antisubmarine helicopters and close air patrol aircraft, which began early this year, has yet to be finalized. The military is also in the market for two anti-submarine helicopters and six close air-support aircraft, with contract prices of P5.4 billion and P4.9 billion, respectively.
Anglo-Italian firm Augusta Westland came out the only bidder for the helicopter deal after a bid opening on Nov. 4. Once it securers a contract, the company is expected to deliver the choppers within 730 days, or 24 months.
The bid opening for the close air support aircraft, eyed by at least six foreign firms, is scheduled on December 15. The bid documents specify delivery within 540 days, or 18 months, after the contract.
In his speech, Mr. Aquino also said his administration “will continue undertaking development projects in Mindanao” -- including, notably, the multimillion-peso, 80-kilometer Basilan circumferential road -- despite security threats such as the Abu Sayyaf.
The President’s speech followed in the wake of a recent ambush by suspected Abu Sayyaf members that claimed the lives of six soldiers securing the construction of the Basilan circumferential road.
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