Manila Times, Tuesday, December 7, 2010MANILA, Philippines - Sa kabila ng kakulangan sa multi-bilyong pondo para sa Modernization Program ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), tatlong lumang mga barko na panahon pa ng World War II ang pinagretiro na ang operasyon ng Philippine Navy kahapon.
Ayon kay Philippine Navy Spokesman Capt. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo ang PS-23 at P 29; pawang mga patrol ship ay gamit sa Internal Security Operations habang ang Patrol gunboat PG -844 ay pawang sobrang luma na at may 67 taon ng ginagamit ng hukbong dagat.
Ang naturang mga barko ay nakadaong sa Naval Shipyard sa Navy Station Pascual Ledesma sa Cavite City.
Ipinaliwanag naman ng opisyal na ang pagpapatigil sa paggamit ng naturang mga barko ay dahilan sa masyadong magastos ang magmintina ng mga lumang barko na panahon pa ng World War II bukod sa masyado na itong mabagal at maraming depekto.
“They are impossible to maintain due to old age,” ani Bacordo kung saan sa kabuuang 53 patrol ships ay 25 lamang ang maaring magamit sa patrol operation.
Samantalang nabatid naman kay Captain Noel de Vera, Commander ng Naval Shipyard na aabot lamang sa P35- M ang pondo para sa pagmamantine ng may 102 barko ng Philippine Navy kaya’t importanteng maisulong ang modernisasyon ng naturang hukbo.
THE Navy yesterday decommissioned three vintage ships.
It is coordinating with the donors of the two patrol ships and a patrol gunboat prior to selling these as scrap metal.
Parts of these vessels have already been removed and used for other Navy ships.
"If we needed spares, we just goet them from these (now decommissioned ships)," said Capt. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, Navy spokesman.
"They are beyond economic repair. It will entail a lot of cost if they are going to be revived so we preferred to remove them from the inventory of the Philippine Navy," said Bacordo.
Bacordo also said the decommissioning of the ships would not have effect on the Navy’s operational capability because these have not been used for a long while, remaining idle at Sangley Point in Cavite City, home of the Philippine Fleet.
He said the two patrol ships, PS 29 or BRP Negros Occidental and PS 23 or BRP Datu Marikudo, were donated by the US after the World War II and are 67 years old.
The gunboat (PG 844 or BRP Jose Artiaga) saw action with the Philippine Navy in 1993 after their donation by South Korea. It is about 30 years old.
With the decommissioning of the three ships, the Navy is left with 99 patrol, transport, and auxiliary ships and small craft, many of them also ageing. Of the number, 54 are operational, the Navy said.
SANGLEY POINT– Three World War II-era Navy patrol boats given by the United States were decommissioned yesterday.
Navy spokesman Capt. Giovanni Bacordo said the 67-year-old patrol boats, which saw action in World War II, will be sold as scrap metal.
“We have a Navy disposal committee,” he said.
Capt. Noel de Vera, Navy shipyard commander, said they have to get approval from the Armed Forces chief and the Joint United States Military Advisory Committee (JUSMAG) before they can proceed with the bidding.
The Navy disposal committee is still assessing the value of the decommissioned vessels, he added, Bacordo said only four of the 10 Navy auxiliary ships are operational.
Among the 32 small craft, 23 are operational, with an average age of 21 years old, he added.
Bacordo said the Navy budget cannot bankroll the purchase of new assets because 70 percent of the outlay goes to the salary of personnel.
The rest is for maintenance and operational expenses, he added.
Navy data showed that out of the 53 ships in the inventory, only 25 are operational.
These patrol boats are, on average, 36 years old.
The bigger ships like mine sweeper frigates and patrol craft escorts are 66 and 67 years old.
