3,000 US servicemen in joint exercises

By Victor Reyes

News Malaya, Friday, 8 October 2010

AT least 3,000 United States servicemen and their assets are in the country for two military exercises with their counterparts in the Armed Forces in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog, a military spokesman said yesterday.

The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise will be held October 13 to 22 at the former US Navy base at the Subic Bay in Zambales, and the Amphibious Landing Exercises (Phiblex) on October 14 to 22 at the former US Air Force base in Clark, Pampanga.

"Around six US Navy vessels and three aircraft (will) participate in these annual events that involve five Philippine Navy ships and around 1,000-strong PN (Philippine Navy) contingent of sailors and marines," said Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo.

Under CARAT are "in port" trainings, including subject matter expert exchanges and community service activities like medical, dental and engineering civic actions and other humanitarian activities, and "at sea" trainings which involve visit, board, search and seizure procedure; maritime interdiction operations and surveillance; and naval gunfire support, among others.

For the Phiblex, Arevalo said a boat ride exercise will be held at the Marine Base in Ternate, Cavite and a mechanized raid at the Naval Education and Training Command in Zambales.

"The exercises hope to attain inter-operability between the two armed services of both countries," said Arevalo.

"Particularly, it seeks to bolster the inter-operability of the participating country’s armed services in territorial defense in pursuit of our national defense strategy," he added.

Navy, Air Force troops to take part in bilateral exercises

By Alexis Romero

The Philippine Star, Friday, 8 October 2010

MANILA, Philippines - Troops from the Navy and the Air Force will participate in annual bilateral exercises with more than 3,000 of their US counterparts this month.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said some 1,000 troops from the Philippine Fleet and Marines would train with personnel from the US Navy and US Marines for the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) and PHIBLEX (Amphibious Landing Exercise).

On the other hand, Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Okol said in a radio interview that they would send a contingent for Talon Vision 2010, an integrated training exercise usually held side by side with PHIBLEX.

“Sailors and Marines of the Philippine Navy stand to benefit militarily in a nine-day training while civilians from Central Luzon stand to gain in humanitarian assistance and development projects,” Arevalo said in a statement.

“We will provide the air component for the exercise. Our troops will learn a lot from this. But our US counterparts will also get an insight on how we do our operations,” Okol told radio station dzRH.

Arevalo said six US Navy vessels and three aircraft would take part in the event.

CARAT will start on Oct. 13 at Subic Bay in Zambales and will end on Oct. 22. It will be composed of “in-port” and “at-sea” training activities.

“In-port” exercises include subject matter expert exchanges and community service activities like medical missions and engineering civic action.

On the other hand, “at-sea” events include visits, board, search, and seizure procedure, maritime interdiction operations, surveillance, and naval gunfire support.

Meanwhile, PHIBLEX will involve American and Filipino Marines and amphibious vehicles.

PHIBLEX activities will include a boat raid exercise at the Marine Base in Ternate, Cavite and a mechanized raid at the Naval Education and Training Command in Zambales.

PHIBLEX will start on Oct. 14 in Clark, Pampanga and will end on Oct. 22 at the Philippine Marine Corps headquarters in Taguig City.

RP Navy in dire need of choppers

By Dona Pazzibugan

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Wednesday, 06 October 2010

THE PHILIPPINE Navy has no helicopters left since its remaining helicopter crashed off Zamboanga nearly two months ago killing two junior but seasoned Navy pilots.

Navy spokesperson Lt. Col. Edgardo Arevalo said he could not stress enough the "urgency" of their need for helicopters after the Department of National Defense suspended the bidding for an P851-million Contract for two new helicopters.

"We hope that the issue can be resolved really soon. We have an acute need for air assets like helicopters. Right now we do not have any helicopter," he said. On Aug. 17, a Navy Bolkow helicopter PNH411 crashed off Zamboanga City in the middle of a training session.

Three passengers survived while the remains of pilots Lt. Tristan Joseph Corpuz and Lt. Junior Grade Jayrald Tamayo were recovered two days later.Arevalo said they need helicopters for search and rescue operations, resupply and deployment of personnel.

"The Navy however, defers to the decision of higher headquarters for a process that may be required for the procurement of these much needed aircraft for the Naval

Air Group," he added. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin ordered a 30-day probe into a possible collusion between defense officials and a supplier since the same company which had already cornered two Air Force contracts worth P6 billion emerged as one of only two bidders for the Navy contract.

Aside from suspending the bidding for the Navy contract, Gazmin also deferred the award to PZL Swidnik SA of Poland of a P3.2-billion contract to supply seven Air Force attack helicopters. Swidnik also won the P2.8 billion contract to supply eight Air Force combat utility helicopters.

Navy, Air Force downplay ‘collusion’ over P4 billion worth of helicopters

By Mario J Mallari

The Daily Tribune News, Wednesday, 06 October 2010

Both the Navy and Air Force leaderships yesterday downplayed collusion between their respective technical working groups that identified the specifications for acquisition of P4 billion worth of helicopters and the suppliers which was the basis of the Department of National defense (DND) to defer the procurement process.

“It isn’t possible to influence the specs to suit a particular manufacturer in that bottom-up process,” said Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo.

Arevalo cited the budget allotted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as a major factor in the procurement of helicopters. The DND has allotted P860 million for two units of multi-role helicopters.

The contract was supposed to have been bid out last Monday but Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin deferred the process, following reports of alleged collusion between the technical working groups and the suppliers as revealed by Reps. Teddy Casiño and Tomas Osmeña.

Aside from the procurement of the Navy helicopters, the P3.2 billion contract for seven units of attack helicopters intended for the Air Force was also deferred for similar reason.

There were allegations that the specifications provided were tailor-fit to only one supplier, apparently the PZL Swidnik SA, said to be the largest helicopter manufacturer in Poland. The firm was the only one left in bidding for the P3.2 billion contract after five other reputable bidders backed out from the process.

Last Monday, DND-Bids and Awards Committee Chairman Assistant Secretary Ernesto Boac announced the deferment of the P3.2 billion contract for seven units of attack helicopters for the Air Force which is now in its post qualification stage and the cancellation of the scheduled bidding for P860 million helicopters for the Navy.

Boac cited statements made by Casiño and Osmeña and media reports about alleged irregularities.

“Given the specs, there certainly are other companies who can comply, but the budget that the AFP has for the helicopters could be that major delimiting cause why other bidders may have backed out as in this case,” said Arevalo.

Arevalo explained that the Navy provided the technical specifications of the helicopters considering the peculiarities of Fleet-Marine operations that require the said air assets.

“The specs originating from the inputs of the end users, like the Naval Air Group and the Sailors and Marines in the frontline, were submitted to higher headquarters thru channel — passing through the Technical Working Group to Weapons Systems Board of the Navy — all the way to similar offices at GHQ (general headquarters) going to DND,” said Arevalo

For his part, Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol maintained that the Air Force technical working group or the project management teams (PMTs) based their recommendations on the current requirements of the command.

“The project management teams that has crafted this basing to current operational requirements, has based it on flight, actual flight experience, there is old doctrines that is currently used… so they came out point by point,” said Okol.

On the alleged collusion, Okol said “those are allegations, those are speculations but the Air Force PMTs are considered professional body of young pilots, very senior in flying experience, attack pilots, as far as the attack helicopter is concerned, so they based it on doctrines and actual operational requirements.”

While both Okol and Arevalo admitted that the delay on the acquisition of much-needed helicopters was not expected, they supported the deferment move if only to promote transparency in the military procurement processes.

“The Navy, however, defers to the decision of higher headquarters for a process that may be required for the procurement of these much-needed aircraft for the Naval Air Group,” said Arevalo.

For his part, Okol said “we just look at that in a way that it is just an added procedure probably established by no less than the secretary of national defense and perhaps to put some closure into the whole activity.”