File photo: The BRP Jose Rizal launched in South Korea, the frigate that is being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Philippine Navy.
THE first of the two South Korean-built frigates for the Philippine Navy is already on its way home where it will be christened into service as BRP Jose Rizal (FF 150), even as the military reasserted the country’s ownership of the Pag-asa Island by docking for the first time a military ship in the area being disputed by China.
The entry into service of the newly built warship is expected to provide additional muscle to the country’s sea force, which, along with the military’s major armed services, is coping with security challenges in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) brought by Beijing’s assertive claims characterized by instances of harassments.
The voyage of the country’s first brand-new frigate was announced by the Navy following the sail off ceremony held at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in Ulsan, South Korea, on Monday, which was attended by officials from both countries.
HHI was contracted by the military through the Department of National Defense to build the two frigates at a cost of P15.7 billion. The deal was earlier rocked by controversy following the decision of defense officials led by Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana to agree to an alleged inferior combat management systems (CMS) for the two warships.
Navy officials previously recommended and even pushed for a more advanced CMS, considered as the brains of any military ship, but HHI went for the CMS built by fellow South Korean company Hanwha Systems, a move that was not challenged by Lorenzana and other defense officials despite the objections of the Navy leadership then under Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado.
A news statement from the Navy said that during the sail off ceremony, representatives from HHI and Hanwha Systems also donated Covid-19 relief supplies for the Navy which were received by Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to Republic of Korea, Capt. Armil M. Angeles.
The frigate is expected to arrive at the anchorage area in Subic, Zambales, on May 23 wherein its crew will undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine before the warship’s technical inspection and “low-key” acceptance ceremony.
Navy public affairs office chief Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas said the arrival of the frigate will give the Navy its “first ever” multi-mission ship capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare operations.
With a maximum designed speed of 25 knots and a cruising speed of 15 knots and a range of 4,500 nautical miles, the frigate has successfully undergone sea trials and sea acceptance test before it began sailing for the country.
Roxas said the first of the two frigates contracted under HHI was supposed to be delivered by the third or fourth week of April this year, but it was extended due to travel restrictions amid the pandemic.
The second frigate, to be christened BRP Antonio Luna (FF 151), is expected to be delivered by end of this year.
At the Pag-asa Island in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), the Naval Forces West (NFW) under Commodore Renato David, docked the BRP Ivatan and physically reasserted the country’s ownership of the island, which is part of the West Philippine Sea that China is disputing.
The Navy’s vessel berthed at the newly constructed port in the island on May 13, according to the NFW’s public affairs officer Lt. Maivi Neri.
Neri said the Ivatan was the first military vessel to dock in the island, and it was made in connection with the NFW’s troop rotation and re-provisioning mission (RORE) for the military’s different detachments in the West Philippine Sea.
“Said vessel already arrived at Puerto Princesa City early morning of May 17, 2020, after weeks of traversing the West Philippine Sea for troops’ RORE at the different KIG detachments which also include Rizal Reef Detachment [RRD], Lawak and Patag Islands,” Neri said.
Blessing of new Covid trucks
The Philippine Army has put into service 50 newly acquired troop carrier trucks procured under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP).
Army spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala said the 50 trucks, designated as KM250, will augment the Army’s existing mobility assets and were temporarily issued to the Army Support Command (ASCOM) to further increase its mobility readiness and to be utilized in the operations against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“KM250s, along with their other counterparts, have become synonymous to the Army’s sustainment operations. These 2 1/2 ton-workhorses are all over the country” in internal security operations, development efforts, reliefs, partnerships, and now in our pandemic operations, said Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay during the blessing.
“Let us take care of our vehicles, and keep them always on top working condition. As more transports enable us to become more mobile, we ensure that our service keeps rolling smoothly,” he added.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/05/20/brp-jose-rizal-phls-first-brand-new-frigate-sails-home/
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