BRP Andres Bonifacio in GenSan for 3-day open house

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 25): BRP Andres Bonifacio in GenSan for 3-day open house

The Philippine Navy’s third frigate-class warship, BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17), arrived here on Wednesday for a three-day open house and public showcase.

The newly-acquired warship docked at the Dole Philippines wharf in Barangay Calumpang here and was formally welcomed by city officials led by Mayor Ronnel Rivera in an arrival ceremony at past 10 a.m..

Lt. James Reyes, public affairs officer of the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, said the frigate’s visit here is part of its nationwide tour and “shakedown mission” that started in Cebu City last January 13.

Before arriving here, he said the warship already visited the cities of Iligan and Zamboanga. Its next stop will be the port of Davao City.

“We’re here to showcase and bring our newest frigate closer to the public. People will now have a chance to personally see it, explore what’s inside and interact with the crew. This is open to everyone,” he said.

Reyes said the open house will start at 2 p.m. Wednesday and will continue until Friday, January 27.
He said they have set up a holding area for visitors at the Mindanao Polytechnic College campus here, where a shuttle bus will ferry them to the wharf and back every 45 minutes.

The official said Navy officials decided to stage a public tour for the frigate “as we need to show that the Navy is the ship and ship is the Navy.”

He said the tour is also aimed to test the seaworthiness and endurance of the ship, which is mainly capable of staging “maritime interdiction operations” or patrols in the high seas.

Being a “cutter” warship, Reyes said it could navigate through rough seas and cut through huge waves.

He said the ship, which is manned by 180 officers and crew, is also equipped with an “Oto Melara” gun or cannon, which he described as capable of taking out moving targets at sea.

“Being a frigate, it has hangar for helicopters. So it could also cater to the marines and other contingents of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.

The warship arrived from the United States in early December after being acquired by the government under the Excess Defense Articles and the Foreign Assistance Act.

From 1967 to 2016 the ship was a Hamilton-class high endurance cutter of the United States Coast Guard that was named USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719) and was decommissioned in early 2016.

Aside from the open house, Reyes said they will hold an exhibit and recruitment activities on Thursday for Navy active service and reservists at the SM mall here.

The exhibit will feature gears, weapons and disaster response equipment of the naval special operations group or the “Philippine Navy SEALS.”

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=958011